Dragonball Z: Divine Intervention
by Zeoniu Zekial Kal Leos
Summary: What would the story have been like if the Kaioshin, having already discovered the Potara Fusion, decided to step in shortly after the Z-Fighters arrived on Namek? Find out for yourself as the new paths unfold... Currently on semi-permanent hiatus. Grammar/spelling/spacing issues intended to be resolved before continuing down the road.
1. Chapter 1

A lone figure stood watch on a planet far from where any mortal could reach. His long flowing white hair rustled slightly in the wind, the red vest and blue undershirt he wore perfectly crisp and smooth.

If any man had seen him, especially with his purple skin, the figure would have been thought of as a mere alien.

But this figure is far from such a simple alien. He is the last god and protector of the entire universe, the guardian of the east quandrant.

Atlast, with a frown, he blinks his eyes and turns to the side. "The time has come. The threat of Frieza, if left unchecked, will grow to encompass more than just a single section of the galaxy." he said in a quiet tone.

"The resistance against Friezas forces are simply too outmatched in every regard. Even that earth-raised saiyan, regardless of his potential, will be able to stand up to the final threat."

With a sigh, he turned back in the direction he had been looking. He locked onto the feel of the life forces upon Namek and vanished a moment later.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Gokus space ship landed on Namek and the door opened with a hiss of pneumatics releasing steam.

Instantly he could feel how weak his friends and sons powerlevels were. "Hold on Gohan, daddys coming!" he muttered, sensing the precise direction they were at, then kicking off and soaring through the air at a blinding speed.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

The kaioshin, having reappeared among various henchmen of Frieza, pauses a moment. "Whos this dude?" Recoome questioned, blinking in surprise at the new arrival.

Almost right afterward Goku arrived. He looked between Recoome, the kaioshin, and his fallen friends and family. Both Jeice and Burter looked back and forth between the trio in surprise.

After a brief click of the scouter on the second arrival, Jeice shruggs. "You don't have much to worry about from the orange geek; he's a lowly 5000!" he laughed. Turned towards the purple skinned figure he clicked it on and, after a couple of seconds, the device exploded.

"Wha??" flinching and dragging the remnants of the device off his face, Jeice looks in surprise down at it. "Have to have been a glitch. Had to have.." he murmured, then glancing up at the fastest member of their force, he said "Scan the first dude. I think my scouter was malfunctioning."

Burter sighed in annoyance and clicked his on, and two seconds later, it too hit its peak and exploded, left overs showering the ground around him. "N-no way..." he stuttered, taking a step back.

Recoome, having waited patiently for the others to read out the other guys powerlevel, finally called over "Well? Whats th' deal with 'em?"

"I-its nothing! Just a malfunction in our scouters! They're picking up Lord Frieza!!" Jeice called over, forcing himself to believe in his own words. Recoome shrugged and turned back around.

To his surprise both shrimps were back on their feet, and even Vegeta was standing upright now. The orange dressed arrival was tying a bag of some kind back to his belt as he approached.

"This has all been very amusing, but the time has come for Friezas empire to fall." the kaioshin stated. "If you intend to survive, now would be the time to turn in your resignation. Refuse and you won't be leaving this planet alive." he added, voice becoming more serious.

Recoome snorted. "Didja hear that? Fools talkin' in his sleep!" he called over one shoulder to the others. Their brief worried looks that quickly became ones of confidence were missed by him.

Goku finally paused between the two and turned to the kaioshin. "So, you aren't one of Friezas servants, but that begs the question: are you here for the dragonballs as well?" he asked calmly, just as unaware of the difference between their respective powers as Recoome was of his own and Gokus.

The kaioshin turned to him. "Son Goku, take your family and return to earth. This planet holds nothing but failure and death for you." he stated softly, as though saddened by the news he had to give.

Goku looked puzzled. "How would you know that?" he asked. "Your reserves of strength have increased dramatically since your fight on earth, but you can not match Friezas own." the kaioshin responded.

"Now, leave while I cleanse this planet of Friezas disease. I do not wish to force you." he said in his serious tone again. Goku frowned. "Thanks for the warning, but I'll take my chances." he responded. "These guys are no match for me. Even if Frieza IS a little stronger, I've still got a little trick of my sleave that'll put things in my favor." he added confidently.

The kaioshin sighed, and was about to say one final warning, when Recoome grunted and threw himself at the distracted pair, growing tired of waiting.

Simply looking at the charging Ginyu Force member, he narrowed his eyes and shouted "HAH!" the kiai slammed into Recoomes body, crushing his chest cavity in with the power behind it and sending him rocketing backwards into a nearby hill.

When the dust raised by Recoomes body smashing through the hill settled, he was no where in sight. Goku spun around to face him. "What did you just do?!" he demanded.

"You mortals refer to is as a kiai. Move, Son Goku." he ordered, raising a hand and throwing the saiyan aside in time to avoid a Crusher Ball.

Stepping force he caught the attack in one hand and clenched it into a fist, destroying the ki attack instantly. With that he vanished and reappeared directly before the other two Ginyu Force members.

"Your time is up." he said flatly, raising each hand and catching them with his psychic powers, he focused and kiai'ed both directly into the ground, nearly a thousand feet down. Little was left of their bodys afterwards.

He looked back to where he had thrown Goku and paused. "I see you are unhappy with my methods. Then let me inform you of something, Son Goku." he said.

"You were trained by the North Kaio, Lord of the Worlds and watcher of the North galaxy. Above him stands the Grand Kai, overseer of all four Kaio. But above even the Grand Kai once were the race I am of, the Kaioshin, Supreme Kais, watchers of the four quandrants of the universe itself. I have watched Friezas empire grow steadily over the decades. It will continue to grow if left unchecked any longer, and you will never be capable of stopping it." he finished.

Before Goku could remark on that, or any of the others, King Kais voice appeared. "Son Goku you must not argue! Do not provoke the Supreme Kai! I have spoken directly with the Grand Kai himself and verified this story." he said quickly and almost in a panic.

Goku frowned again. "I don't agree with how you killed them, especially if you had the power to defeat them and leave them alive... but if King Kai says you're a good guy... I guess I don't stand much of a chance, do I?" he asked.

"If you attacked me with every last ounce of ki at your disposal, not one scratch would be left upon my form." the kaioshin responded. "Henh... thats a bit hard to swallow, but I guess I've got to take it as the truth... but, I'm not leaving. Not until Friezas threat has been dealt with." Goku said honestly and seriously.

"... So be it. I see great potential in you, and I would not want to slay you as I will Frieza. But enough of this chat. Come, if you can keep up." he stated, and a moment later, was but a distant blur.

Goku blinked in surprise, then smiled. "Someday I'll catch up to your level, Supreme Kai." he stated, then kicked off from the ground with a cry of "Kaioken!" and shot forward.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin were left behind in their dust. "Unbelievable!" Krillin sagged, "What kind of power! I feel like an ant by comparison!" he said. "I-I know." Gohan responded.

Vegetas face had been a still snarl. "Damn you, Kakarrot! I won't let you get any further ahead of me!" with a shout he powered up and shot after the two.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaioshin soared through the air so fast the landscape was literally destroyed in his wake, being swept up behind him and carried along.

Within seconds he landed softly before Friezas spaceship, everything else smashing down around his body nearly a twenty seconds later.

Ginyu paused in his watch over the dragonballs and turned towards the purple skinned alien. "Whoa... where did YOU come from?" he demanded, eying the other suspiciously.

Casually switching on his scouter he watched the numbers rise rapidly. "120'000... 140'000... 170'000... 200'000... 230'000... 260'000... 300'000..." Ginyus voice dropped lower and lower as the numbers just kept on rising, his pupils enlarging to the size of saucer plates.

"400'00... 470'000.... 530'000..." with a crack the scouter could no longer read the power and, despite the best technology in this galaxy being used to make this latest of scouters. it self-destructed.

Spraying metal and plastic all across his left side, Ginyu flinched from the explosion. "You're one of the soul switching races." Kaioshin stated, watching Ginyu. "Or perhaps you prefer to call it body exchanging." he added.

Ginyu blinked in surprise and terror. This strange being not only had a powerlevel at least equal with his master Frieza, but he too knew of Ginyus secret technique! This was a nightmare.

"No response? I should suppose not. Are you afraid because your scouter reads me as strong as Frieza himself? Because if so... " Kaioshin vanished and reappeared directly before Ginyu. "It would be wise of you to not believe everything you read." For only an instant, Kaioshin raises his Ki to maximum. One single instant, enough to give Ginyu a feel for just how outmatched he truly was.

The power crushed Ginyu down into the ground, not to mention causing Namek itself to begin shaking violently.

Then things calmed down again and Ginyu could only stare horrorfied at the behemoth figure standing calmly across from him. "w...w...w-what..." he attempted to ask. "Leave now and I will spare your life. You may yet be helpful in the decade to come." Kaioshin stated.

"But if you dare return to this life style... to rebuild Friezas empire... nothing will prevent your eradication." he threatened softly.

Turning away Kaioshins eyes narrowed and he vanished again, having felt Friezas ki some distance away.

Goku himself arrived nearly a minute later. His face held a restrained look of awe. 'That... was the power of a Supreme Kai?' he questioned quietly to himself. 'He's right. I could never leave a scratch on him as I am.' he frowned at this then noticed Ginyu, halfway embedded in the ground and staring horrified at a blank section of air.

The full blooded saiyan dropped to the ground and walked up to him. "So, who are you?" he questioned. Ginyu didn't respond. He was paralyzed. The intense aura rolling off of the Supreme Kai had broken something in his body, rendering him unable to escape from this spot, or even show signs of life.

He was as good as dead. Goku looked at him and felt the weakness of his Ki. With a sigh he dug into the senzu bean bag he carried and noticed he had half a bean left. "Come on, open up." he said, pushing it into Ginyus mouth and helping him to swallow.

Ginyu blinked his eyes, then pushed out of the ground, looking at Goku as though seeing him for the first time.

"W.. who're you?" he asked. "Son Goku, a saiyan raised on earth. I came here to use those dragonballs behind you." Goku responded. Ginyu slowly looked over one shoulder and remembered the figures words.

"Take them. I don't care what Frieza wants now, I'm not about to be slain to follow that tyrants orders!" Ginyu responded. Goku raised an eyebrow. "Frieza was supposed to be the most powerful in the universe... but I know thats not true anymore. My life was spared, and I'm taking the second chance." Ginyu answered, looking off in the direction Frieza had vanished to.

Goku smiled. "Thats good to hear." he said. "Do you have anywhere to go home to?" he asked. Ginyu frowned now. "Now that you mention that... no." he answered. "Well... when this is all over... why don't you come with us back to earth?" Goku questioned.

Ginyu paused, considering it. "How strong are you, anyhow?" Goku asked all of a sudden. Ginyu smiled thinly back. "Far more so than you, Saiyan." Goku grinned back at him. "I don't know about that. I did some pretty wicked training on the way over."

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

By this point, kaioshin had arrived outside of the Great Elders. Nail and Frieza were trading blows. Neither seemed to be aware of the Supreme Kai watching them from above.

'Enough of this. The Namekians have had a terrible life, and I will not stand by and watch this one die as well.' dropping from the ground he landed directly between the two fighters, facing Frieza, and caught the tyrants next punch in his own fist.

"Wha--? Where did YOU come from?" Frieza exclaimed, startled by the sudden appearance. Kaioshin clenched down on Friezas hand, crushing it in his grasp slowly, much to the others agony.

"How does it feel, Frieza, when YOU are the one outclassed to such a degree? Tell me, is it pleasant?" he demanded harshly. "Guh!" with a shout of pain Frieza pulled back with all of his might, ripping his wrist free of the hand connected to it in the same manner that Nail had lost his own arm just minutes before.

Turning from Frieza for the moment, Supreme Kai dropped his ruined hand to the ground, ignoring the low growl of pain the tyrant was giving as his purple blood leaked from the hand.

Nail watched all of this with awe, but took a step back as the kaioshin raised both of his hands. "Relax, Nail, lone warrior of warrior namekians your planet has to offer. You will be healed." a white glow overcame the startled namekian, but when it settled moments later, he was back to full strength and then some.

"Go, now, Nail. Wish your elder to youth again so he may rebuild your race once more. The dragonballs await you many miles east of here." he commanded. "Who... are you?" Nail asked seriously.

Turning to face Frieza, he responded. "A Kaioshin, Supreme Kai, watcher of the four quadrants universe from Heaven. The time has come for Divine Intervention." he stated seriously. With that he appeared before Frieza and kicked him in the head, sending the Tyrant reeling backwards to crash through half a mile of land.

Vanishing as he followed Supreme Kai reappeared and picked Frieza up by the front of his helmet. "You are a threat to all life in this galaxy." he said flatly. "But there exists a threat that no force in Heaven or the living realm can defeat. I've realised a misjudgement on my part." with a white glow washing over the tyrants body, restoring him to full health, the two were gone again, heading for Son Goku and the others.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Narrator: What misjudgement is this that the Supreme Kai spoke of? Why has he restored Frieza to full health? And what might this greater threat he spoke up be? Will Ginyu agree to come to earth? Find out next time, on DBZ: Divine Intervention, airing semi-weekly on Dragonball General!


	3. Chapter 3

Kaioshin, dragging Friezas body behind him easily, floating above Son Goku and Captain Ginyu, the other Z-Fighters surrounding the two down below. Both were locked in combat, but a smile was on Gokus face as he wrestled with the purple skinned alien.

Clearly they were in a close range of power, with Ginyu having the advantage. "You're the strongest Saiyan I've ever fought. I'm impressed!" Ginyu said as he raised a foot to Gokus chest and kicked off, sending the saiyan soaring backwards to smash into a small hill nearby, raising dust.

"But I don't think you're good enough to match me!" Ginyu called across the clearing to where Son Goku had gone down. The Supreme Kai watched, waiting to see if he had truly made a misjudgement or if he was right in his first assumptions.

A red blur shot out of the dust, slamming an elbow across Captain Ginyus forehead, followed by an uppercut to his jaw that sent the other alien flying upwards, and finishing with a leap high overhead with a flip-kick that sent him right back down to Nameks surface, smashing into the ground roughly.

Goku let his Kaioken drop and slowly descended, wiping a spot of blood from one lip with a confident smile on his face again. As he landed he helped Ginyu to his feet. "Sorry to hurt you. But this is why I think you should come back to earth with us! You'd be a great training partner, especially for Vegeta and my son, Gohan!" Goku said with excitement.

Captain Ginyu grunted, wiping some of his own blood off his face with the back of his left hand. "Understandable. I guess the saiyan battle lust runs true in you afterall?" he remarked. Goku looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking back on his childhood and the battle against Vegeta back on earth.

"Well, yeah, I guess so, but I've never really thought of it like that." Goku responded. "Ahem." Kaioshin interupted as he dropped down.

The others turned to the voice and Ginyu openly gaped at Frieza, held loftily in one hand by a horn, in this smaller alien figure. It sent a shiver down his spine at the sight, remembering the threat of before once more.

"Son Goku, I believe you have the potential to become the Super Saiyan your people have spoken of in --" Vegetas scoffing interupted his words and the Supreme Kai turned to him. "You doubt this, Vegeta? Surely you do not hold fast to the belief that YOU are capable of becoming the Super Saiyan of Legend?" he questioned in a tone of dismissal.

Vegeta snarled in anger, unfolding his arms and looking ready to throw himself at the other alien. "Do not even bother, Vegeta. I have felled Frieza in a single blow. Could you have in a hundred?" turning back towards the earth raised saiyan Kaioshin continued.

"I believe you are capable of becoming the Legend, a Super Saiyan. His power rose sharply like your own has after many battles, and continued to rise, until he fitfully transformed." turning his head to look sharply into Vegetas eyes, he added "I was quite alive in that time thousands of years ago. I know a Super Saiyan in the process when I see one."

Vegeta clenched his fists tightly and struggled to keep his temper under control. "I have not slain Frieza because I see in him the perfect method of training you to greater strength. This monster has enough transformations to keep you on the path for years to come." the Supreme Kai explained.

Through out all this Goku looked thoughtful, yet eager as well. "Well, gosh, that sounds pretty cool, but are you sure?" he asked. "Yes, Son Goku. If any saiyan alive today could become a Super Saiyan, it is you. In the next decade your strength will be needed." he paused as Nail finally arrived, winded from the rapid flight.

"Onto other matters, however: Nail requires the namekian dragonballs to return the Great Elder to youth. Afterwards two more wishs are left, in which you can use to revive your fallen allies." Kaioshin explained.

Krillin whooped in joy at the news that three wishes could be made with the namekian dragonballs. He and Gohan started dancing around, smiling. Goku looked just as happy. "Ungh..." Frieza grunted, coming to consciousness at last.

He looked up to see half a dozen fighters around him, but all seven dragonballs right ahead of him, and a namekian striding towards them. He pushed to his feet, or atleast tried to. Kaioshin still held onto his horn.

"Awake at last, Frieza." said a chilling voice from behind the tyrant. Releasing so Frieza could turn around and face him, Kaioshin crossed his arms.

"Your time has come, Frieza. You be killed. This judgement I have made, as the God of this universe." with a grim smile he looked to Son Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan.

"Attack with your maximum energy, each of you. See if you have the strength to overwhelm Frieza in his weakest form." Kaioshin requested.

Frieza himself narrowed his eyes at this and launched a kick at the Supreme Kaios face. It hit and nearly broke every bone in the foot, making him winch and pull back with a low growl. Kaioshin retaliated with a brief blow to Friezas head, rendering him unconscious again.

"Trust me, you can not kill him as you are, but do your best. I believe in you." he responded.

Goku frowned, but nodded his head. "Kaioken... times four!" he shouted, a firey red and white aura bursting to life around him as his muscles enhanced rapidly. Gohan looked on in slight awe of the power, but snapped out of it raised his hands.

"Kame.. hame.." Goku began. "Masenko..." Gohan trailed off. Vegeta growled in frustration and threw himself at Goku instead, determined not to let the common saiyan out do him and to prove his own superiority again.

The surprise attack landed succesfully to Gokus back, but did little damage. Goku turned and stared at Vegeta incrediously. "What are you playing at, Vegeta?" he demanded. Vegeta snarled and began firing ki bursts rapidly from his hands at point-blank range.

Gohan paused, watching the scene with torn confusion. Attack Vegeta or let his father take care of him? A sudden shout of "Hah!" from the quickly rising dust cloud and a blue fire ball shooting out of it took care of the question.

Kaioshin shook his head. 'Mortals... always killing one another. Especially the saiyans!'

Vegeta raised his arms before his face as the kamehameha came rapidly at him, but the difference in power level, the heat of the attack and power behind it, quickly lifted him off his feet and began burning through his clothing, singing his skin.

He refused to shout in pain, however. A few moments later and Goku reappeared behind him and yanked him off the attack before it could kill him. "Knock it off, Vegeta! This is about more than just you and me! This is about protecting the universe from Frieza!" he shouted in annoyance.

Before another word could be said, Kaioshin appeared before them, hands raised. "**Enough.**" he ordered in a soft, yet commanding tone. Goku dropped his kaioken and nodded his head. As white light and healing energys washed over the two saiyans, each felt something change in them.

Dropping Vegeta to feel at his lower back, Goku could feel something that he hadn't had since he was a kid. Vegeta himself knew instantly what it was by the strange growing sensation.

Goku finally managed to slip a hand into the back of his pants to be sure and felt a soft, furry tail had regrown. He looked up at the Supreme Kai in qustioning and a hint of awe. "Remember, Son Goku, any saiyans power grows ten times when as a Great Ape. With ten times your current strength, you could easily kill Frieza as you are. But no, that is not why I have restored the damaged tissue and blood preventing your tails regrowth." Kaioshin responded to the look.

"I am thinking about the future. Trust me, you will need that ten times multiplier incase you fail to become a Super Saiyan." he stated before turning to face Vegeta. "You are many times weaker than Son Goku. In order for my plans to work, you are going to undergo a rough training regiment that will bring you up to his level. Goku will train to reach Friezas level."

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Narrator: What does the Kaioshin have planned? What is the true reason for restoring the full blooded Saiyans tails? Will this training regiment be enough? Can they truly kill Frieza without Kaioshin himself dealing the final blow?? Find out next time, on DBZ: Divine Intervention!


	4. Chapter 4

Vegeta scoffed again, clearly agitated at Kaioshins words that he was weaker. Still, he might yet be able to gain an advantage over the fool and overpower him when he was exhausted from whatever this training regiment was.

'Don't count on it, Vegeta.' Kaioshin thought, reading his mind easily.

"I can tell you are excited to get this underway, Son Goku. In order to become stronger, I will put you through a similar effort as you underwent on the way here; fighting to exhaustion and beyond, nearly to the brink of deaths door, then becoming healed. In short, your races greatest ability.. the Zenkai." he explained.

Goku looked a little disappointed that he would be repeating his efforts, then thought of a problem with this. "I trained in really intense gravity, though. And even then I only reached this point at the maximum of a 100Gs." he said.

Kaioshin smiled knowingly. "Ah, yes, if you were to undergo the exact same training, then you would indeed improve very little. But I said a similar effort." turning away, he pointed to Friezas body down below.

"You will each fight Frieza, together. You are obviously ill-suited to defeat him, but the wounds you sustain in the process will allow you to become far stronger upon recovery. Please, be at ease, my power far outstrips Friezas. There is nothing to fear." he explained calmly.

Goku looked a little worried, but nodded his head. Vegeta barely kept his temper in check, but being forced to fight with kakarrot was simply beyond his ability. He would not fight along side that mockery of a saiyan, under any circumstances.

"Never." he nearly growled. "I'd rather die than fight with him by my side!"

Kaioshin turned back to face him. "... So it shall be." he responded in a soft tone, finally losing his own patience with the prideful saiyan. Vegetas eyes narrowed at the threat yet he could not even respond to the speed with which the other figure moved.

An instant before, the purple skinned alien was standing several feet away. The following instand, one arm was through his chest and out his back. Vegeta coughed on his own blood as the arm was withdrawn, and he dropped to his knees, clutching at the gaping wound.

Goku rushed forward to his side. "Vegeta!" he shouted before turning to face the Supreme Kai. A hand was raised to halt any speak. "You will die without my assistance, Vegeta. Will you hold lose your pride in this time, when you could have become a Super Saiyan?" he demanded.

Vegeta couldn't see him, but he raised his head in the direction of the voice, blood gushing out of the gaping hole. "N... Nev... never.." he rasped. Kaioshin narrowed his own eyes in anger but resisted the impulse to let the filthy mortal die afterall.

A white glow washed over the dying saiyan, and the hole patched it self up in only a few moments. He opened his eyes, feeling his breath come with ease again, and patted where the hole had been in his chest only seconds prior.

"Your power should be above Son Gokus right now. Who knows, your next Zenkai may very well put you on par with Friezas current form." he stated flatly, clearly disappointed that Vegeta would hold fast to his pride even as he died.

Goku stood up and turned to face the Supreme Kai with anger in his eyes. "Just why have you decided to intervene? If you're so capable of killing Frieza, why are you making us do so for you??" he questioned.

Kaioshin stiffened and turned away from them again, pacing towards Frieza and then back again, repeating this several more times before deciding to come forth with his true agenda.

"Long before your race even existed, peace and prosperity reigned in both Heaven and the mortal realms. The four Kaioshin watched over the four quadrants of the universe, ensuring no trouble arose that the mortals could not face." he began in a low tone, continuing to pace.

"But in our actions we overlooked a lowly wizard known as Bibidi," he paused, spitting the name out like a foul curse. "The wizard had no power, but he held great magic. He gathered the evil from across the universe, dwelling in the hearts of most races, and centered it into a single focal point, twisting it with his magics." again he paused, eyes closed, remembering.

"The evil took on a shape, a living form. Bibidi was most pleased with his creation. He dubbed it Buu, and took it with him into Heaven. Buu was able to slay the Kaioshin of the North, and the West, but he absorbed the burly Kaioshin of the South." the Supreme Kai shuddered.

"Buu became vastly more powerful. I, the weakest of them all, was simply batted aside like a discarded toy, unworthy of further attention. Instead he turned to Lord of the Lord of Lords, the Dai Kaioshin, a being of pure good. Buu absorbed him, and his power was greatly suppressed in doing so." again he paused, this time coming to a halt.

"I slew Bibidi when I recovered, yet only after the foul wizard had sealed Buu inside of a cocoon and deposited it on a planet among you mortals. For the rest of the years that have passed I have searched far and wide for Buus cacoon without success. I have decided to put my considerable power to use as I once did originally, giving up on my search for the time." he opened his eyes and faced the two full blooded saiyans again.

"My power is little compared to Buus. I will need the strongest fighter in the universe at my side if I ever find the cocoon. That is why I have decided to intervene, Son Goku. You and Vegeta are to be the fighter at my side." he stated.

Goku was frowning. This was becoming complicated. Vegeta looked angry now. "You would use me, the saiyan prince?" he demanded. "Get over yourself, mortal!" Kaioshin snapped, unleashing an accidental kiai that knocked Vegeta end over end for a dozen feet.

Krillin and Gohan had long ago stopped celebrating and were no where in sight. Both Ginyu and Nail were watching with hints of curiosity yet also fear, however. Clenching his fists to get his temper back under control Kaioshin faced Goku again. "Enough of this. You have your choice of Zenkai method, Son Goku: Vegetas brutal way, or fighting Frieza." he stated with no hint of a third choice being available.

"Uh.. if its all the same to you, I'll take my chances fighting Frieza." he responded. "So be it." throwing a hand out to the side where Vegeta was recovering, spitting out a mouthful of blood, the Supreme Kai took ahold of his body with telekinesis and threw him forward to Son Gokus side.

"For all that is good in this universe, fight, saiyan." he ordered. "Uh... where'd Frieza go??" Goku suddenly asked, looking at the spot where the tyrant had previously been then around them. He noticed his son and best friend were also missing.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

From far overhead, as the three suns of Namek reflected off of his shiny armor, a forth form Frieza watched those down below, a slowly growing Death Ball held above one hand, sure in himself that this would end them once and for all.

Beside him, two earthlings were entrapped with his psychic power and other outstretched hand. "Filthy monkeys, all of the saiyans. I'll be quite glad when the last of them down there are exterminated. As for you two earthlings... you'll make a fine bargaining chip if that monster tries to intervene." he muttered.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Narrator: How could Frieza escape and transform with no one noticing!? Will Vegeta continue to stubbornly resist? Does the plan the Supreme Kai have devised for their Zenkais sound like crap?? As a battle looms ahead, what will happen now that Frieza has entered his forth and final form!? Find out next time, on DBZ: Divine Intervention!!


	5. Chapter 5

Kaioshin glanced around and felt like grinding his teeth, an annoying habit picked up watching untold numbers of mortals over the years. He reached out and felt for the ki signature of the tyrant, and within a second had it located.

And it was a lot more than it should have been. "Stay put." he ordered both Goku and Vegeta, then glanced upwards and vanished into the sky.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Overhead Frieza blinked and realized the other alien had gone, vanished. Before he could do more than whip his head around behind him to look, the Supreme Kai had once more appeared. Frieza made to clamp down on the earthlings bodys with his psychic pressure, but found his own body unresponsive.

Kaioshin floated through the air towards them, stiffly reaching out and twisting one hand, and suddenly Krillin, and then Gohan, were free. "Go." he ordered softly, a look of barely restrained fury burning in his eyes.

Between the days events and reliving the memories of Bibidis pet beast Buu, the slaying of his fellow Kaioshin so long ago... it left him feeling a rage he had long thought conquered.

"C'mon, Gohan, lets get movin'!" Krillin urged the younger earthling, placing a hand on his arm and practically dragging him away. He had seen that kind of look before, in Vegetas eyes back on earth. It nearly paralyzed the small man, and he knew nothing good could come of this.

As the duo fled back down to the ground, Goku and Vegeta arrived. "Is... is this... _Frieza_??" Goku questioned in an awed tone at the power. Kaioshin did not answer. He shuddered and closed his eyes, trying to force himself to calm down... but things were spiraling out of control too fast.

"_I am sorry, Son Goku. Leave this area. I will handle Frieza personally, afterall_." he managed to ground out. Goku frowned. Something was seriously wrong. "_If you do not leave now, I will throw you out of the way of danger. The future is at stake_." he whispered, turning from the saiyans and finally opening his eyes.

Immediately a kiai shot forth, smashing Frieza head over heels out of the psychic hold. The Death ball, no longer being held up, dropped down at the ground. "_Hah_!!" Kaioshin exclaimed with more than a little anger, directing his gaze and a hand down at it.

The Death ball exploded into a thousand useless fragments, fading away a few moments afterwards.

The backlash of wind this raised sent everyone else in the vicinity head over feet as well for a lot farther. Frieza, having just managed to right himself before this, blocked the wind with his arms, just barely, eyes widening in shock.

He had little time to contemplate this before the force of a meteorite smashed him upside the back of the head, followed by a kick to his rib cage from the side and chest right afterwards, and ending with a series of rapid fire jabs to his face.

All the while Kaioshins body was a blur of redish lines as he moved at speeds beyond any other being on this planets level of comprehension. Dark purple blood gushed from a split lip and bruises were forming on the tyrants body where the other blows had landed.

"You _will_ pay for the crimes you have committed in your life, Frieza!" Kaioshin hissed, twisting around and slamming one foot across Friezas jaw, dislocating it. Another psychic hold wrapped over the others body to hold him still as Kaioshin continued to reign down blow after blow, breaking bones and turning the most feared warrior in the galaxy into a punching bag.

After nearly a minute, Frieza was barely hanging onto his life. Kaioshin reached forward, sweat dripping off his body, and used one final thrust with his psycic powers, throwing Frieza all the way down to the ground, where a massive crater formed.

His rage began to fade and the red haze that had descended over his sight vanished back to where it had come from. Atlast the fatigue that should have set it from all the healing began to settle over him.

"... " "What have I done?" he murmured, looking at the blood coating his hands and body then down at the crater, an expression of disbelief forming. "How can I have lost control?" he shuddered, feeling repulsed and disgusted by his actions. He slowly dropped down to the ground and knelt by the crater, thrusting a hand forward and dragging out Friezas battered body.

If the tyrant had been hanging by a thread onto life before, he had one foot through deaths door now, the rest slipping through with every second that passed.

"..." One final white light and energy washed over Friezas form, restoring him to pristine, if unconscious, health. After that he pushed to his feet and floated over to where Son Goku and Vegeta were watching.

The former watched him with wide, awed eyes, but the latter was stunned into silence, unmoving. "... I can slay Frieza now... but I offer you the choice. Stay and fight with me, or take your leave of Namek and leave him to divine justice. Please..." he paused, a pained expression on his face, "_Decide_."

The tone and look got a nod from Goku. "You were amazing. You don't need our help.. or do you?" he questioned slowly, looking the Supreme Kai over. The purple skinned aliens shoulders were slightly slumped and he looked weary around the eyes.

"Yes. I have over exerted my energy. I can no longer heal you on this day, nor the following day, or likely for the better part of a week. My strength is starting to wane until I rest, and if we are to succeed, now is the only time to strike, else the chance will be lost to you." he responded softly, a note of tiredness starting to slip in.

Goku stood up straight. "You've got it. I'll do my best, even if its not enough." he stated, nudging Vegeta lightly. The other full blooded saiyan blinked and finally processed all of what was said. He frowned instead of his usual scowl. "Your plan has failed then, hasn't it? To... train us, as you called it?!" he demanded.

Kaioshin nodded his head. "Yes, Vegeta. The path of the Zenkai must wait until another day. Frieza will not wait." he turned to see the tyrant already starting to stir. "I warn you; his strength is in the millions. And he is not even at 100%, the hundred millions mark yet."

Both saiyans looked at him in disbelief. "It is true. My own power at my prime, earlier today, was also in the late hundred millions mark. I can feel it dropping rapidly, however, from exhaustion. Soon Frieza will surpass my waning strength." '_And I can not allow that. I must beat him into a point suitable for you two_...' he added silently, still stressed from his loss of control.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Frieza pushed himself to his hands and then up onto his feet, patting himself down in surprise. He was sure he had died... and then it came to him, the white light and energy he now knew to be a healing process.

He spun around to see a far more weary looking Kaioshin marching towards him with the two saiyans at his back. He narrowed his eyes. "Death Beam!" he commanded, raising a hand and drawing back all but one finger.

The narrow beam shot forth and Kaioshin backhanded it right back at him. "Your tyranny and dominance over the galaxy comes to a halt today." Kaioshin stated flatly. A moment later he was on Frieza, delivering rapid fire punchs to the others head again.

Frieza was too slow to avoid the first ten or so, but the last three slowed and he was able to pull free, reeling from the pain. He expected to feel the next attack fall at any moment, but it took longer.

Several seconds longer, actually. A sharp kick slammed into his stomach, forcing out a glob of thick purple blood as the attack nearly pushed out his back. A hand grabbed ahold of his skull and slammed it down into a raised knee, smashing his teeth in. The other hand grabbed ahold of his tail and began spinning, panting, then slamming him along the ground.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Goku and Vegeta watched again, waiting. The power level difference was so absurd they knew they could do nothing right now to help, but even the usually positive Goku could tell that things were starting to take a turn for the worse.

"This battle is starting to decline... I don't doubt Frieza will be able to win if it keeps up much longer. Look at how Kaioshins blows aren't dealing as much damage. " while what Goku said was true, it was because both fighters had now dropped down to a more even level.

Kaioshins strength had dipped into the low multimillions and Friezas was around twenty, thirty million. Kaioshin was no longer the only one getting in hits. Frieza began to land a stray blow at first, but then another, and more often until the two were trading punchs and kicks together.

Thick purple blood dripped from wounds on Friezas body, while Kaioshin was likewise bleeding around his face and hands, the red vest and blue undershirt sustaining enough damage to tear and show wounds beneath it.

A hard kick to Kaioshins chin sent him reeling backwards. Frieza pursued. Taking ahold of his long white hair with one hand, the tyrant grasped one ankle, then raised him overhead.

And despite the many thousands of years watching mortals fight, this particular technique evaded him on how to avoid. Goku, on the other hand, recognized it for what it was and shot forward with a shout of "NO!"

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Narrator: Will Frieza, who's power is now starting to surpass Kaioshins, successfully snap the others spine? Will Goku and Vegeta, one at 90'000 and the other around 400'000, possibly be able to fight and survive? Will Frieza kill them all and gain his wish for immortality? Read on for a preview!

Preview: Kaioshin stared into Gokus eyes, establishing a brief, weak mental connection. 'Son Goku, wear these earrings. Give one to Vegeta, and ---' the connection faded as the other closed his eyes slowly.

Frieza threw the body towards the two full blooded saiyans. "I hate saiyans. They've always been hard to control and lusting for a battle. Its time I dealt with the last saiyan threat to my empire, now that THIS pest has been finished off. Divine justice? Don't make me laugh. He is no more a god then you!" he ground out through broken teeth, spitting a mouthful of blood aside.


	6. Chapter 6

A hard kick to Kaioshins chin sent him reeling backwards. Frieza pursued. Taking a hold of his long white hair with one hand, the tyrant grasped one ankle, then raised him overhead.

And despite the many thousands of years watching mortals fight, this particular technique evaded Kaioshin on how to avoid. Goku, on the other hand, recognized it for what it was and shot forward with a shout of "NO!"

Yet the full-blooded saiyans speed was worthless compared to that with which the tyrant moved. A loud crack filled the air as the Supreme Kais spine was snapped over Friezas raised left knee. A low gasp managed to escape him as Frieza released the ankle and dropped the once mighty figures legs to the ground, keeping ahold of his hair.

Kaioshin stared into Gokus eyes, establishing a brief, weak mental connection. _'Son Goku, wear these earrings. Give one to Vegeta, and_ ---' the connection faded as the other closed his eyes slowly.

Frieza threw the body towards the two full blooded saiyans. "I hate saiyans. They've always been hard to control and lusting for a battle. Its time I dealt with the last saiyan threat to my empire, now that THIS pest has been finished off. _Divine justice_? Don't make me laugh. He is no more a god then you!" he ground out through broken teeth, spitting a mouthful of blood aside.

Goku numbly caught the Kaioshins body. His ki was still faintly there, just barely. He was paralyzed permanently like this, but alive. With a frown Goku pried the left earring from Kaioshins ear and clipped it onto his own left ear, then reached for the other.

"What do you think you're doing?" Friezas voice demanded from right before him. Goku looked up. One moment the tyrant had been several feet away, the next in his face. "I never know what you saiyans are going to do! Raiding your so called saviors body for any last ditch hopes of powerful relics? _Just die_." with a hiss Frieza raised one finger.

"Duck you imbecile!" "Death Beam!" Vegetas foot slammed into the side of Gokus head, barely pushing him out of the way of the powerful laser. However, it tore through Vegetas right thigh in place of Gokus skull.

The elite saiyan growled in pain and dropped to one knee, but managed to throw himself aside enough that the uppercut he received for his efforts only just shattered his nose.

Goku was reeling from the kick, but struggled up to his feet slowly. The earring was still in place. 'I don't know why you wanted us to wear these.. but Vegetas never going to agree to it. I've got to get it on him before he can -- _URK_!' Friezas tail wrapped around Gokus neck, choking him.

"You're nothing but pissants! And still, _still_, you find a way to irritate me!!" Frieza hissed in a growing rage, squeezing tighter. Gokus vision began to go black.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Krillin watched the battle from afar. "Damn it! This is bad.. what can we do though??" he muttered. Gohan and Nail watched grimly as well. "You guys better go raise Shenron! I think we're gonna need those three wishes shortly." Krillin told them.

Nail nodded his head simply, "Come Earthling." he directed to Gohan, and shot off, so many dragonballs held in hand and beneath his arms. Gohan looked torn between following the namekian and watching the fight below, but Krillin waved him on. "You better hurry." Once Gohan was racing off after Nail, Krillin began thinking again, talking to himself.

"The only thing I could do.. wait a minute..." an idea came to him. It was stupid, but so far, his Destructo Disk had yet failed to cut through anything. Even if Frieza felt it coming, it would distract him, and hopefully that would be enough to help Goku come up with _something_.

Raising a hand overhead, Krillin summoned his attack. The yellow-ish disk of ki grew above him, spinning with a razors edge rapidly. "Just hope this doesn't kill Goku as well..." throwing his hand forward, Krillin prayed to Kami it would work as the disk shot forward.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Gokus body was bloody and bruised after being slammed across the ground back and forth with Friezas tail still wrapped tightly around his throat. Vegeta was in a similar state, one eye swollen shut from another barely avoided attack.

"The time has come to end the saiyan race once and for all." Frieza declared, throwing Gokus body into Vegetas and sending them across the ground to lay beside Kaioshin. He raised a hand to the air to summon another death ball when he heard a buzzing, humming even, in the air behind him and quickly approaching.

Glancing back Frieza saw the on-coming disk and narrowed his eyes. Raising both hands beside him Frieza summoned two larger disks and threw them forward to meet the lone one. The duo tore through the single disk and carried on even faster towards Krillin in the distance.

Within seconds the earthling was cut into four seperate slabs of body. His neck and above fell forward, his arms and a part of the torso and chest fell to each side, and his legs and teh remaining torso fell backwards. He wasn't even able to get out a cry of fear or pain before his demise was on him.

Goku watched his best friend die through one eye, energy so weak. Disbelief ran through his system. Beside him Vegeta twitched and pushed to his elbows slowly. "Damn you Frieza.. this isn't the way it should have been!" he growled lowly.

Goku remained as he was until Krillins body dropped out of sight entirely. Something clicked in his mind. A wrath burned to life in him such as he had almost never felt before in his life. A violent red aura burst to life around his body, and his hair gained a slight brown hue to it, pupils vanishing.

His muscles bulged out like in kaioken x4, yet no white was interspersed with the aura that usually came with using the technique. Goku slowly pushed up to his feet, anger burning in his blood.

Vegeta felt the other saiyans ki rising strongly. "How!?" he demanded in frustration as kakarrot once more surpassed him. Gokus head whipped down and locked eyes with his own, a silent snarl on his features.

"_Get the damn earring and put it on your right ear! DO IT NOW!_" He roared at Vegeta. The elite saiyan narrowed his eyes at the command. Goku grabbed a handful of Vegetas hair and slammed him face-first into the ground, then tore the earring from the Kaioshins ear before something punching him in the shoulder and broke the bone, sending him sailing across the landscape, dropping Vegeta at the hit.

Friezas own eyes were narrowed dangerously. "And what do we have here... a technique you picked up on earth? I'll make sure to destroy it when I'm done here." he stated, walking forward to where Gokus body was embedded in the ground.

With a roar of anger the nearby ground exploded around Gokus body and he shot forward, drawing back one arm and screaming out "KAMEHAMEHA!!" the orange fire ball exploded forth and smashed directly into the tyrants face, obscuring it in smoke.

Sailing forward still and then over Frieza, Goku came to a stop beside the Supreme Kais body and literally tore the earring off, ripping flesh apart in the process, then forcing it onto Vegetas right ear before the unconscious saiyan could be killed.

Behind him Frieza walked out of the smoke, a dark expression on his face and expecting to see Goku before him, but with the saiyan no where in sight, he spun back around.

Just in time to see the two saiyans bodys glow white and melt into one another in a flare of explosive energy, so brilliant the tyrant had to raise an arm to protect his eyes.

When he lowered it, he saw the two had gone. In their place a single figure stood, facing away from him with the arms at his side. The hair swept upwards in Vegetas style yet with a stray bang or two hanging over the forehead in Gokus style. The body was powerfully built, yet the muscles were compact, not bulging outward. His outfit consisted of the boots and gloves Vegeta wore, and Gokus lower gi in a deep blue. At the waist the outfit was torn and ragged with no upper half, just as it had been on both saiyans moments before.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Narrator: At last, fusion! Goku and Vegeta have become one fighter, but will he be the ultimate fighter Kaioshin sought to have by his side in the future to come, or will he be another victim of Friezas ruthless eradication? Read on for a preview...

* * *

Frieza raised a finger, unsure about what had happened, but positive he was going to end them now. "_Don't even bother_." the figure stated softly, turning to face Frieza at last. His features were neutral, but his eyes were burning with confidence and anger.

Frieza scoffed at the tone of dismissal, and commanded "Death Beam!" As the familiar beam of energy rushed at them, the figure shot forward to meet it and backhanded it off into the sky, just as the sky flashed to black darkness. The figure smiled slowly. "So they're summoning the eternal dragon Shenron." he stated.

Frieza blinked and his eyes widened. "My wish!" he shouted, suddenly recalling why he was on this worthless planet afterall, and shooting off into the sky to locate the dragon. The figure appeared infront of him, arms crossed. "You aren't going anywhere."


	7. Chapter 7

The tyrant looked the saiyan over in, despite himself, curiosity. But after a moment he crushed that emotion beneath his mental heel. He had heard rumors of two or more fighters combining their strength together, but never actually merging together.

Frieza raised a finger, unsure about what, or even how, this had happened, but positive he was going to end them now. "_Don't even bother_." the saiyan stated softly, turning to face Frieza at last. His features were neutral, but his eyes were burning with confidence and anger.

Frieza scoffed at the tone of dismissal, and commanded "Death Beam!" As the familiar beam of energy rushed at them, the saiyan shot forward to meet it and backhanded it off into the sky, just as the sky flashed to black darkness. The saiyan smiled slowly. "So they're summoning the eternal dragon Shenron." he stated.

Frieza blinked and his eyes widened. "My wish!" he shouted, suddenly recalling why he was on this worthless planet after all, and it most certainly wasn't to bother with these gnats, it was to become immortal!

Frieza shot off into the sky to locate the dragon.

The saiyan appeared in front of him, arms crossed. "You aren't going anywhere." he stated, but then gained a curious look on his face. Friezas eyes narrowed and he summoned another two of the deadly spinning disks of ki, throwing them forward.

"I suppose that could work..." he murmured to himself, soaring backwards to avoid the duo, still with that curious expression, as though he was trying to decide on something.

Frieza didn't waste his time waiting to see the blood bath that would occur once the saiyan was hit, rocketing straight up. Several miles due west a massive glowing green figure reached up into the sky.

Beneath him the saiyan continued to avoid the disks for a few moments then nodded his head. "Yes, that should work." he finally looked to the left and right, seeing the disks coming in at his head from opposite directions. He smirked.

Glancing up at Frieza, he saw the tyrant shoot off rapidly in one direction. 'No you don't.' he thought, still smirking, and ordered "Kaioken... x4." the red aura burst to life around his body, a hint of white mixed in with it for good measure. His muscles expanded slightly but nothing compared to the usual point.

The disks were left in his dust as the saiyan reappeared before Frieza, kicking him in the chin and sending him reeling right back into the path of his own technique. "Yeah, I'm really going to let you die that easily!" the saiyan said sarcastically.

Appearing directly above him, the saiyan kicked him in the head and sent the tyrant on a crash course with the ground below. That, of course, left him in the path of the twin disks. Shrugging and throwing a hand above him, he commanded simply "Destructo Disk."

The usual small disk appeared above him, yet the razors edge had a tint of blue-white around it, and it seemed to be spinning even faster than usual. With the same arrogant smirk he thrust his hand forward and threw the disk at the oncoming two.

Much like Friezas own disk had torn Krillins to shreds, so too did the saiyans rip apart the duo. As their ki remnants faded away, the saiyan noticed Frieza had recovered from below and had taken the time to summon half a dozen more disks.

"Don't you have anything original?" the saiyan asked with a laugh. "You won't be laughing in a moment, saiyan!" Frieza responded, anger clear. All six shot into the air at his command and the saiyan crossed his arms over his chest again, laughing still harder.

A few moments later and all six converged on his location, tearing right though his body. Below Frieza let out a satisfied shout.

Behind him the laughing broke out again. Frieza whipped around to see the saiyan still completely fine. He looked back and forth for a moment before the afterimage in the sky faded and the six pack of disks began coming back in.

"Oh, you should have seen the look on your face, Frieza. It was perfect." the saiyan said softly, getting out one more laugh, then straightening up. "But in all seriousness... Its over." with that he ducked beneath Friezas roaring kick, snatched the ankle with one hand and an arm with the other, and shot backwards through the air away from the disks.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

"It is done." the namekian cousin of Shenron stated, as the third and final wish was completed. His body faded as the seven dragonballs shot off into the sky across Namek.

Some distance away, the Great Elders body became young again, restoring his life and vitality strongly.

Those killed by Frieza and his men came back to life, including Krillin.

And on earth, both Kami and Piccolo found themselves restored once more. The darkness passed and sunlight glinted down once more on Namek. "Now what?" Gohan asked worriedly. "Now we wait." Nail responded.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

The saiyan snapped Friezas lower left arm and ripped the appendage clean off, a satisfied smile on his face. A kick to the head shut the low shout from the tyrant up and sent him crashing to the ground.

The disks closing in on them were dealt with by the still active first disk the saiyan had summoned.

Frieza swept a double kick up at the saiyans torso, but it passed through another afterimage. A fist with the force of a meteorite crashed down on his chest, shattering half the ribs. "You know, Frieza, I think I'll keep you around." the saiyan said with a smirk, picking him up by the tail and, holding it beneath one arm, proceeded to grasp the others wrist in between his own hands and crush the bones in.

Howling in pain, Frieza threw his head back and slammed it into the saiyans face. With a scowl and spitting out blood from a suddenly busted lip, the saiyan slammed him to the ground and smashed a foot down atop one ankle, wrapping the tail around an arm, and proceeded to break and grind to dust every bone in Friezas remaing fully attached arm.

He moved on to the arm still attached at the elbow and above, all the while Frieza hissed and howled in pain. His good leg was snapping out and kicking at every piece of the saiyans body, but with a murmured "Kaioken... x6!" the blows simply glanced off, breaking the bones in his foot.

The saiyan couldn't resist another laugh at that. With the arms worthless, he tore them out of the sockets and discarded each over his shoulder. "Your screams are so satisfying." the saiyan stated.

Frieza couldn't get out anything more than yet another anguished shout as the bone breaking moved down to one leg, starting at the thigh. Nearly two minutes passed like this before the legs joined the arms.

Little more than a torso now, with only his head and tail still attached, the saiyan picked Frieza up by the throat. "Yeah, I'm definitely keeping you around. The knowledge that a saiyan picked apart the so called almighty Frieza is just too damaging to your pride to let you get off the hook by dying.

With a final snap, Friezas nose was shattered as he was slammed to the ground, blacking out finally. The saiyan dragged him along it as he walked over to the point where the Kaioshin lay. He paused briefly to pick him and throw over one shoulder then paused. "Thats Krillins ki signature..." he trailed off, surprisingly serious.

Then he grinned. "So I guess nameks Shenron doesn't have any trouble bringing you back twice." he rose into the air and approached his old friends location. Krillin was out of it on the ground.

Descending, he shook the man awake. Krillin cracked an eye open blearily. "Son Goku...?" he asked slowly.

The saiyan shook his head, smiling. "Not quite Kakarrot. Not quite Vegeta, either. I suppose, if you want a name to call me... Vegetto works just fine."

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Narrator: And so Vegetto, the previously un-named fusion of Goku and Vegeta, has dubbed himself. He clearly made quick work of the galaxys greatest threat until now, Frieza. But will his idea to keep Frieza around, to mock and make fun of, in short just to torture, back fire on him? How will Kaioshin react to this? What lays ahead for the Z-Fighters?? Read on for a preview.

* * *

The group reappeared on Kami's look out. "So this is earth." Kaioshin commented, walking along the edge and surveying the humans below.

"That it is." Kami announced, walking forward slowly, then bowed his head in respect. Kaioshin smiled and waved a hand for Kami to go back to how he was.

Vegetto stretched. "Guess theres no point in training. I'm already more powerful than anything else in the universe." he stated arrogantly. Kaioshin let out a sigh. "Please, you must continue training, you have to grow stronger! Buus threat--" he was cut off by a pointed look.


	8. Chapter 8

Helping Krillin to his feet, Vegetto felt out the powerlevels of his other friends. While he did that, the human looked him over in slight awe. He could feel the power that seemed to just flow off of the saiyan, and he could also see how the figure before him resembled both Goku and Vegeta.

"Theres the last of them." Vegetto stated, then with a stretch, rose lazily into the air and flipped onto his back, adjusting his grip of Frieza to his tail so the tyrant would still drag along the ground, while shifting off his shoulder and into one hand.

"C'mon, Krillin, lets go meet up with the others. I want to see how they like my new form!" smirking down at the human, he shot through the air rapidly despite his casual and relaxed position. Krillin whooped in laughter at the sight then, with a small smile, leaped into the air and followed, even while he stated to worry about what the Supreme Kai had done by somehow combining Goku with that creep, Vegeta...

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Several minutes later and Vegetto glided lazily into the Great Elders home, where Nail was talking with the younger form of Guru, and both Ginyu, and Gohan were looking out the window uneasily.

The four turned to face the doorway as Vegetto entered, dropping Kaioshin to the ground and slapping Frieza around the doorway a couple of times before landing. Gohan was frowning, confused by the mixed signature the saiyan before him was giving off, as it read as both Goku and Vegeta.

Nail took on a slightly defensive stance, but Guru relaxed from his own tense position after a moment. Only Ginyu looked truly happy. "Well, I suppose my appearance does look intimidating." Vegetto smirked at them.

Guru cleared his throat and stood up, approaching the saiyan. "Let me begin by saying a thanks to you, the saiyan that was formerly separated. Your fusion truly is befitting a warrior of your strength!" he declared.

Vegetto tilted his head to the side and gave Guru a slightly puzzled look. "How did you know?" he questioned, curious. Guru smiled. "I have seen those earrings you wear now, once, long before this day when Namek was still young and her people still children." he answered.

"That, in addition to the strange signature of energy you are giving out now, slightly discorded yet balancing out, indicates you are a fused being." he added.

Vegetto nodded his head, accepting the answer, and turned to Gohan. "Well, son? I may no longer quite be Goku, but I'm still your father." he said. Gohan nodded his head and stepped forward hesitantly, then wrapped his arms around the other saiyans body.

Vegetto smiled down at him and ruffled his head affectionately. "We're taking home a trophy from namek." he declared to the room at large then looked down at Friezas mangled body. "He's incapable of fighting like this and his pride will suffer with every day he lives. Sounds like a pretty good reason to keep him around." he laughed.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

A couple of hours later, the group returning to earth were gathered before the spaceships, both Gokus, and the Ginyu Forces. Kaioshin was still nearly dead and unconscious. Behind them, Guru, Nail, and Dende stood.

Vegetto motioned Dende forward. "Could you heal the Kaioshin here? Just bring him back from deaths door. I don't see any need to put him back at full strength any time soon. Might make him a little more humbled spending the next month or three in space with people stronger then him." he said.

Dende nodded his head slowly and brought his hands up. Moments later as a low glow surrounded the Supreme Kai, he groggily sat up with a groan and looked around himself. "Welcome back to the living. In." Vegetto ordered, picking him up by the back of his vest and tossing Kaioshin inside.

Kaioshin was shocked by the treatment, but in no state to complain. He landed against the railing leading down to the next level and slowly turned around to see what was going on.

Vegetto dragged what Kaioshin hoped was the corpse of Frieza inside with his tail, but the tyrant let out a groan of pain. Following behind Vegetto was Son Gohan, and with that, no one else entered.

Approaching the computer, Vegetto input the commands for the door to close and from there the ship to launch. "Come on, we have some things to discuss." Vegetto told Kaioshin.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Outside Gokus ship, Krillin, Ginyu, and a reluctant Bulma got inside of three of the Ginyu Forces ships, as had been discussed earlier. The other two ships had been destroyed to get rid of them, and after a reprogramming thanks to Ginyu, the remaining ships were follow Gokus ship to Earth.

It would take some time to get there, but the Z-Fighters were heading home. Friezas threat had been dealt with by a combination of Divine Intervention and the desperate fusion of two far outmatched Saiyans.

As this part of our story comes to a close, in the deep and dark expanses of space, a danger Kaioshin had overlooked would soon be on the trail of the heroes.

* * *

**Four months later.**

**

* * *

**The ship that had brought Son Goku to Namek and now carried Vegetto, Kaioshin, Frieza, and Son Gohan home, entered the atmosphere of Earth like a burning meteorite, crashing to the soil not far from Kamis Lookout.

Close behind three more space pods crashed to the ground around it. As the doors cracked open on them all, Vegetto slowly floated out, a genuine smile on his face as he soaked up the sunlight glowing down on him and looked out on the very familiar territory.

After another moment, he moved out of the door way and turned around. "C'mon, we need to check in with Kami and make sure the dragonballs of earth are in place." he said to those still inside, then called the same message out to the other space pods before shooting up into the sky.

Krillin shook his head, smiling. "Sounds like he's more Goku than Vegeta right now. I guess we should be grateful for that." he said to himself before stretching, then rising up to follow. Ginyu looked around the Earth for several seconds, frowning. "Whats so special about this dust ball?" he asked himself before likewise rising into the sky after the others.

Kaioshin unsteadily stepped out onto the earths soil, mind on other things. Grasped in one hand was Friezas tail. Behind him Gohan emerged, stronger after four months training. The kaioken was now among his known techniques, and he had a pretty powerful Kamehameha mastered along with his Masenko.

"I can take the fallen tyrant if you want." Gohan offered, having gained confidence in himself along the journey home as well. Kaioshin absently handed him off. 'I can not help but wonder what the future holds ahead for us... this can not end well..' he thought. When he next looked around, only he and the earth woman were left standing.

He ignored her muttered words of outrage and shot into the sky after the others.

The group were now all together atop Kamis Lookout. "So this is earth." Kaioshin commented, walking along the edge and surveying the humans below.

"That it is." Kami announced, walking forward slowly, then bowed his head in respect. Kaioshin smiled and waved a hand for Kami to go back to how he was after several seconds, glad to finally be shown some respect again.

Vegetto stretched. "Guess there's no point in further training. I'm already more powerful than anything else in the universe." he stated arrogantly. Kaioshin let out a sigh. "Please, you must continue training, you have to grow stronger! Buus threat--" he was cut off by a pointed look.

It had become an effort in futility, trying to change Vegettos mind about the threat of Buu, lurking out there in the universe somewhere. Vegetto doubted the creature was even still alive.

Kami approached Vegetto. "I do not recognize you, Saiyan. What has happened to Son Goku?" he questioned.

Vegetto smiled. "You're looking at him." he stated. Kami raised an aged eyebrow. "I must inquire further. You have a passing resemblance to the saiyan known as Son Goku. Are you another brother?" he asked.

Vegetto looked at Kaioshin darkly. "Call me Vegetto. I was Goku and Vegeta before we fused. Apparently permanently, something neither of my original separate halves had been informed of."

Kami looked closer at him, then gasped and stepped back. "Such power... how is this possible? Goku was hardly strong enough to handle Vegeta when he left..." he trailed off, feeling the mixed energy signature as well as the Ki.

"Frieza was a good motivator before I turned him into my personal ***** for killing Krillin and nearly doing Kaioshin in." he leaned behind himself and Gohan floated forward to hand the tyrant over.

Vegetto grasped him and brought Frieza around. "Now he's a trophy of my victory on Namek." Vegetto had to admit, the look in Kamis eye and on his face at these statements and the sight of Frieza was most enjoyable.

* * *

Narrator: The Z-Fighters are back on earth, and all seems to be well. But what lurks in the shadows of space? How much more powerful has Gohan become? Wheres Piccolo?? Read on for a preview.

* * *

The pair of ships entered earths atmosphere and landed in several miles of empty desert. "So this is where Frieza is being kept. Why are we wasting time to rescue the weakling? If he was so pathetic that earthlings could conquer him, I see no reason not to let him waste away here as a fitting punishment."

"You know precisely why. The honor must be upkept. Not even Friezas defeat can be allowed to tarnish it. After he is with us, this dust ball will be wiped off the grid."**  
**


	9. Chapter 9

"What is the meaning of this?" Kami questioned, sensing Frieza still clinging onto life. Vegetto shrugged. "Why should Frieza get off the hook and be rewarded with deaths embrace after all of the harm he has caused the galaxy in his reign? Not only was he handed his ass on a silver platter, he was handed it by a lowly saiyan." Vegetto stated.

"Do not bother trying to convince me to kill him. I've had four months of it on the way back from him." he added sharply while jerking a thumb over his shoulder at Kaioshin.

Kami closed his mouth and frowned. "I sense Vegetas influence has strongly affected your judgment. So be it. You are more than strong enough, but remember, the lives of every human on this planet are on your conscience should Frieza escape and find a way to kill them." he stated in a tone of disappointment.

Vegetto frowned. "Hey now, don't say it like that! Friezas no longer a threat to anyone. Besides, if, IF something happened, we can just revive everyone with the dragonballs. So lighten up, Kami." he responded, irritated.

Kami did not respond, but instead turned from him and approached Kaioshin. "I can only hope you were shown your proper level of respect, Lord of Lords." he said in a solemn tone. "If not, I beg your forgiveness. As the guardian of this planet, atleast partial responsibility falls back on myself for his actions."

Vegetto bristled but ignored the conversation least he say something to make it worse, instead feeling out for Piccolos power level. To his surprise he could not locate it. 'Is he purposefully lowering his power level to zero?' Vegetto thought.

"Kami, where is Piccolo?" he questioned, interrupting the two deities talk. Kaioshin sighed while Kami just looked indignant at being interrupted.

_'Please, just tell him what he wishes. I can not change his mind, and if I a Supreme Kai can not, you, surely, have no hope to succeed as a mere Kami_.' Kaioshin spoke into his thoughts, nearly making the old namekian jump, though he nodded his head after a moment.

"Very well, Kaioshin." Kami responded aloud, turning to Vegetto again. "My other half is training in the Room of Spirit and Time." he answered. Vegetto ran the term through his memories without success.

"You spent a month there in your childhood, Son Goku-- Vegetto." he corrected himself.

"... Wait... a large white space? Extremely cold?" Vegetto questioned. Kami nodded his head. "Yes, the very same, though you spent so little time inside I am not surprised you had a hard time remembering. Piccolo should emerge within the next three hours, before you ask." he added.

"Good. I want to see how he compares to Ginyu, at the least. Thanks for your time, Kami." with that Vegetto floated into the air. "I'm going to check in on Chi-chi in the meantime, but I'll be back to see how Piccolo is doing later. Coming, Gohan?" he asked.

Gohan thought it over. "Okay." he said, turning to Krillin. "Do you wanna come to?" "Nah. I'll wait it out up here. But something does seem different about you, Gohan..." he trailed off thinking it over.

Gohan smiled. "Confidence." he answered, then shot off. Vegetto laughed at the left-in-the-dust expression on his best friends face, then rocketed forward to chase after his son.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Three hours later, Ginyu has been introduced to Kami and demonstrated his body-changing technique with the old namekian. It took a few minutes, but Kami eventually got control over the body. "I must confess myself impressed. I can not ever recall myself being this powerful before, not even before the split." he said.

Ginyu laughed weakly. "Nor can I ever recall feeling so feeble. Surely you still train? This body would be reduced to smoke from an overly harsh tap from Frieza, let alone the Supreme Kai!" he stated.

Kami frowned. It was an amusing expression on Ginyus body. "No. I confess myself too old, too far surpassed by the current generation of fighters. I long ago passed on the torch of defender of the world to Son Goku, as a child. Now I merely observe and do my part to warn them when trouble might arise." Kami responded.

A few moments later and the two were back in each others proper bodies again. Ginyu let out a sigh of relief. "Ah. This feels amazing again." he said softly, aware of just what a difference there was between himself and the old namekian.

Kami also sighed. "Indeed. I hope you will use that ability to aid the earth if the chance should ever arise." he stated.

Ginyu nodded his head. "It is unlikely I'll be needed, but if the chance arises..." he trailed off. For a moment, he considered taking over the Supreme Kais or Vegettos bodies. 'I could be the most powerful...' he thought.

_'You would be unwise to dare attempt it. Your speed is too slow. You would be killed before you could succeed_.' Kaioshins voice spoke into his mind from a distance off. Ginyu actually did jump.

"N-never! I'll never use my ability in such a way! I promise!" he shouted. Kaioshin smiled as Kami raised an eyebrow.

"N-never mind." he muttered, looking away.

A few minutes later, a familiar powerlevel suddenly appeared. Kami was the first to notice. He turned towards the direction of the Room of Spirit and Time. Krillin picked up on it next. Kaioshin, reading the others minds, found out.

Ginyu was left in the dark until he noticed everyone facing one doorway and took a guess at the mysterious Piccolo atlast about to make his appearance.

-zzzzzzzzzzzzz-

The pair of ships entered earths atmosphere and landed in several miles of empty desert. "So this is where Frieza is being kept. Why are we wasting time to rescue the weakling? If he was so pathetic that earthlings could conquer him, I see no reason not to let him waste away here as a fitting punishment." a deep, sharp tone growled.

"You know precisely why. The honor must be up kept. Not even Friezas defeat can be allowed to tarnish it. After he is with us, this dust ball will be wiped off the grid." a lighter male voice responded.

"The honor has already been tarnished! Word was spreading of Friezas defeat at the hands of a pair of lowly _Saiyans_. **Saiyans**, _father_!" the deep voice growled. "Even after all the effort Frieza went to to ensure their demise, and he is still defeated by them. Fate has such a sense of irony, does it not?" he demanded.

"Enough." the lighter tone stated coldly. "It is not your place to question why or how your brother was defeated. It is your place to ensure he is returned to full strength to eradicate the threat that brought him so low to begin with. Never forget that, Cooler."

"..... Yes, _father_." Cooler responded venomously. With that done, the door to the first ship lowered and the glinting white armor and purple skin of Cooler emerged slowly, slipping a scouter on over his left eye. Behind him a handful of strong soldiers from different races trotted out.

"And... Cooler." his fathers tone called out from still within the ship, causing Cooler to turn to him.

"Bring them here before you kill them. I could enjoy the sport of watching you demolish our familys enemies." he stated.

Forcing his face to remain neutral, Cooler lowered himself into a mocking bow. "As you wish, King Kold." he muttered, standing back upright. "Kill all earthlings you encounter. Lure the strongest fighters back here." Cooler issued his command to the others.

* * *

Narrator: How strong has Piccolo become? What is Cooler going to do while his henchmen are about killing? Are the dragonballs once more in danger of being used for corrupted wishes? Find out next time on, Dragon Ball Z: Divine Intervention! Read on for a brief preview of next weeks episo-- erm, chapter!

* * *

"Who do you think you are?" Piccolo demanded, one leg outstretched with the foot where Thousars left hand had previously been. A bleeding stump was all that was left at the wrist. The first member of Coolers Armored Squadron howled in pain, then narrowed his eyes and summoned a blade of ki to his right hand.

"You'll pay for that!" he promised, swinging it at the namekians head. Piccolo tilted his head to the side, narrowly dodging the attack, then thrust one arm straight at the others chest.  


* * *

Power level list:  
Vegetto: 14'750'000(Base). Kaioshin: 523'000'000. Son Gohan: 1'200'000(Base). Piccolo: You'll find out shortly ;) Frieza(First form): 200'000. Cooler(First form): 1'000'000. King Kold/Cold(First form): 1'500'000.


	10. Chapter 10

Piccolo emerged from the Room of Spirit and Time, then paused. 'What is this...' he thought, narrowing his eyes in concentration. 'The human Krillin...? They have returned from Namek so soon? And who are these other two?' he thought.

Slowly walking forward he appeared at the doorway leading out onto the Lookout within a few minutes, taking his time to listen, but no one spoke, and he concluded they must be waiting for him.

Stepping out into the light, Piccolo confirmed his first two assumptions. Kami stood across from two purple skinned aliens. Both were weaker then him, though the smaller of the two was the stronger.

"I take it you were successful on Namek." Piccolo called out to Krillin, keeping both eyes on the other two aliens, not trusting them.

Krillin laughed weakly as he approached. "You could say that. We gained a couple of allies..." he began.

* * *

Gohan slowly stood up and glanced to the east. Across from him, Vegetto set his fifth helping of dinner aside and stood up as well, frowning.

"Thats not Piccolo." Vegetto stated flatly. "It feels like Frieza." his frown slowly began a manic grin. "Care to give Friezas friends a trashing this time around?" he asked his son. Gohan nodded his head, not quite as pleased as his father was, but a little of the saiyan bloodlust finally awoken in him.

"Lets go then. See you later, Chi-chi!" Vegetto said eagerly, floating upwards and rocketing out the doorway. "Bye, mom." Gohan added over her indignant sputtering and followed.

zzz

"...." Piccolo watched the so called Kaioshin with narrow eyes. "Do not think I will sit around and let you lord over this planet! Its already got one god I have toppled, do not think you will be invulnerable forever." he growled.

Kaioshin stiffly walked forward, letting his power rise. He raised a finger and poked Piccolo in the chest with it. "I will not tolerate such impudence from

* * *

as well. I have no choice but to accept Vegettos attitude, but you are expendable." he warned in a soft tone.

Despite himself, Piccolo winced in pain from the simple poke, feeling more like a stab with the strength behind it.

Behind them, Kami sighed. "If Piccolo dies, so do I, and earths dragonballs are rendered inert." he said. "That is hardly a problem. I am confident a replacement among your people could be found to restore them." Kaioshin continued in the same tone, now staring Piccolo in the eye.

"C'mon, guys, lets not fight or anythin', ye-- huh?" Krillins attempt to defuse the situation before it blew up was halted as he swiveled his head around in the opposite direction, concentrating with a frown.

He gasped and spun back around to see Frieza still laying on the ground and blinked, confused. "Why are two powerlevels that feel just like Frieza down below??" he questioned.

Kaioshin broke off his staring game with Piccolo and turned to Krillin. "Did you just say... Oh!" with a shout of remembrance, Kaioshin teleported to the edge of the Lookout and scanned the world below.

He raised a hand to rub his eyes wearily. "Of course... his brother and father..." he murmured lowly. "Go swiftly, Vegetto, Son Gohan."

* * *

Vegetto turned his head to see Gohan trailing slightly behind and called out to him

"Ginyu and Kaioshin can take out the peons; Lets tackle the main problem!"

Gohan nodded his head and put more energy into his speed.

* * *

  
"You fool! You attacked Frieza without disabling his family, knowing full well they could track his ki back to this planet?!" Piccolo shouted. "I intended to slay Frieza on Namek with no interference from Son Goku or his friends! Will you save the innocent people below, or continue to argue with me??" Kaioshin demanded.

Piccolo growled. "Incoming!" Ginyu called over to them, seeing two fighters soaring into the air suddenly divert from their set course and head up towards the Lookout.

Piccolo looked down and leaped back from the edge of the platform as a large burst of ki tore through the place his head had been at a moment before. "I'll deal with you eventually!" he swore at the Supreme Kai, then shot over the edge at the on-coming fighters.

"Lookee here, we've got a Namekian from the looks of it!" mocked Dore, drawing back a hand to throw another large ki blast. A dozen white orbs shot from Piccolos already outstretched palms ahead, shooting past them.

"Great aim there, Namekian!" Dore called across the open space. "Uh... Dore?" the alien at his side said slowly, distracting him. "What?" Dore demanded, taking his eyes off Piccolo ahead of him. His eyes narrowed as he saw all the energy orbs that shot past simply floating behind them.

"A sneak attack, huh?" he yelled ahead to Piccolo. Piccolo simply shot another dozen forward at the empty space ahead of his enemies, halting them in mid-air.

"Consider yourself honored; this is the first time I have used this technique against another living being." Piccolo finally called across to them. Dore scoffed and threw his now charged ki ball ahead, watching as it pushed the others out of its way and continued right at the namekians head.

Piccolo spun in place and kicked it off to the side, hardly caring as it soared down and destroyed a large section of forest. Shaking his head at the pathetic attack, he commanded "_Hellzone Grenade!_" and clenched his hands.

Dore and the alien beside him never had a chance as they were engulfed in the explosion of every sphere of ki.

Piccolo laughed deeply at the sight of terror on their face in the split-second before they were killed.

* * *

Vegetto landed a short distance away from the two ships, Gohan at his side moments later. "You want the one standing at the door or inside the ship?" Vegetto asked. "I'll take the guard." Gohan responded.

"Alright." with that both saiyans shot forward, raising their power levels back up.

Coolers scouter suddenly beeped to life and he swiveled in the direction of the two oncoming saiyans. The taller shot forward with an intense burst of speed and brushed right past him, but the smaller came to a stop in the air before him.

"I don't know why you came to this planet, but I won't let you get it!" Gohan stated, and without another word, threw a punch at the aliens head. Cooler scoffed as he blocked it with one arm. "You can't defeat me, child." he responded, jumping up and kicking Gohan in the head.

The half-saiyan spun in the air several times before righting himself, and wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. "I guess I should have powered up fully first." he said to himself, then with a shout, threw his arms and legs out and raised his power level to full.

The backlash of wind threw Cooler backwards, and his scouter beeped as it read out Gohans full power. "1'200'000?? Impossible! Thats stronger than I am!" he growled, looking up at the other.

He was just in time to see Gohan lock his hands together and chant the words "Kame.. ha.. me.. HAAAAAH!!"

As the blue-white beam came down at him, Cooler threw himself aside and rolled along the ground, body glowing as it transformed into his second stage mid-roll.

When he came back up, his form was slightly taller and a little bulkier, as well as just over doubling his power level. "Death Beam!" he shouted, raising his left hand and aiming one finger at Gohan.

The half saiyan responded with "Kaioken x2". The deadly beam rushing at him at an impossible speed suddenly slowed down and Gohan actually smiled down at Cooler before he caught it in both hands and threw it upward.

In the middle of West City, Thousar was massacring humans left, right and center. He laughed at the sight of the the blood spread out thickly along the ground, pieces of flesh and bone here and there.

Drawing back his left hand to fire off another volley of ki, he heard a sudden whoosh before pain set in, and a sharp and angry voice spoke up.

"Who do you think you are?" Piccolo demanded, one leg outstretched with the foot where Thousars left hand had previously been. A bleeding stump was all that was left at the wrist. The first member of Coolers Armored Squadron howled in pain, then narrowed his eyes and summoned a blade of ki to his right hand.

"You'll pay for that!" he promised, swinging it at the namekians head. Piccolo tilted his head to the side, narrowly dodging the attack, then thrust one arm straight at the others chest, pressing his palm directly to it, and unleashing a flare of ki.

Thousars upper body was erased by the explosive wave of energy, leaving his torso and extended right arm from the elbow and down behind. "The only one who will kill these humans is me, scum, Demon King Piccolo." he growled lowly at the remains.

* * *

Narrator: Piccolo seems to be falling into his old persona once more, with quite a high strength to back it, but will he remain on this path? Son Gohan is holding his own quite well, but will the Kaioken eventually fail him against Cooler? What of Vegetto against King Cold? Read on for the preview below....

Cooler shook off the blow slowly. "You insignificant worm... bringing the mighty Cooler so low... but I have a trick my brother never learned. You will see a power so great you will beg me for a swift death, but no, I will ensure you suffer for forcing me into this form..." he spoke slowly, as his body began to glow again.

Gohan watched with narrowed eyes, wondering where this was going, when he felt the others power level rising steadily. "_Another transformation!?_" he shouted in exasperation.

Vegetto: 14'750'000(Base). Kaioshin: 523'000'000. Son Gohan: 1'200'000(Base). Piccolo: You'll find out shortly ;) Frieza(Current first form): 200'000. Cooler(First form): 1'000'000. King Kold/Cold(First form): 1'500'000.


	11. Chapter 11

Cooler gaped at the small warrior for a moment, then with a grunt began firing off multiple Death Beams from his fingertip. Gohan frowned and raised his arms before his face, tanking the brunt force behind the attack against them. Smoke arose as each detonated on contact, and Cooler silently waited to see if the enemy would emerge, but when the blew it away, nothing was left behind.

Cooler relaxed and began laughing when a voice shouted from above "Masenko-ha!"

Coolers laugh died in his throat as he whipped his head upwards in time to see his enemy, upper clothing burned away and skin slightly singed, with a glowing red aura around his body and a yellow orb of ki gathered into his hands. Gohan thrust downward with all his might, sending the powerful attack straight into Coolers face. "Ngh!" with a grunt he dropped down and threw a hand up to catch it, barely succeeding in time.

The force behind it drove the taller alien down into sand, which began to crystallize from the heat rolling off the Masenko. "This.. can not... be!" Cooler growled, eyes narrowing in rage as he brought his second hand up to push against it.

"Or maybe, you're too weak." Gohan muttered from behind him, hands locked palm-to-palm together. Cooler twisted around to stare as the demi-saiyan brought his hands before the others face and exclaimed "Kamehameha!"

* * *

Naise kicked Piccolo across the jaw, knocking off-balance and sending him to the ground. Without waiting, Naise began leveling ki blast after ki blast on Piccolo, shouting the entire time. "_You'll never beat me, namek scum! I don't care what my scouter read, your nothing! Nothing_!"

Even as his eyes saw it, his mind just couldn't accept it, refusing to believe what was happening before him; Every shot was sent flying away from rapid fire kicks, the final soaring right back at Naise scouter and blowing it, and half the aliens head, off.

Flipping up right, Piccolo walked forward slowly and leaned down to grab the front of Naise uniform, ignoring the blood and brain matter oozing out of the remnants of the others head, and growled. "You are nothing! Destroyed by your own attack, pathetic!" throwing his body into the air, Piccolo raised his head and shot two thin laser bursts out of his eyes.

Naise remnants were cut in half and fell towards the earth, and two quick ki-bursts ensured nothing was left of the last member of Cooler's Armored Squadron.

Still angry over finding another city in ruin before he could arive, Piccolo sensed for the next above-average power level. Having located it, he shot into the air.

* * *

Vegetto yawned as he watched Gohan fight Cooler, King Cold out of it on the floor. One punch was all it took with how weak the other alien was. Right now Vegetto was evaluating how Gohan had improved since leaving Namek.

'His strength and speed are impressive, but his confidence is the most improved. Even if he had all the strength in the world, without enough confidence in himself, its wasted.' he thought.

'He shouldn't have taken the Death Beams. It would have been better to side step and smash him in the side before the enemy even realized something was wrong. Then again, at his current speed that he would have needed a Kaio x3 to succeed on that.' he frowned as he saw the next part of Gohans attack.

'The Masenko-Kamehameha strategy only paid off this time because its strong enough to overwhelm the enemy, If he were fighting a serious foe, he would be eating sand for taking the time to mock first.' he smiled wryly. 'Then again, I can see where he picked _that_ up.'

* * *

Even as Cooler lowered one hand to try and block the powerful beam, it was on him. His muscles bulged as he growled lowly, struggling against two attacks trying to crush him from different directions. "HAAAAAH!!" Gohan roared, pushing forward harder against his enemy.

Coolers body was engulfed as it pushed past his hand, erasing it, and the Masenko dropped ontop, converging together in a mix of explosive energy.

Gohan felt his enemy's ki drop sharply for a moment and started to relax, when it spiked higher than before. "What the..." he began before he felt the ki vanish and reappear behind him. He threw himself forward and twisted around, only to see no one there.

A kick came from a foot that seemed to materialize in mid-air beside his head, followed by the rest of Coolers body, now transformed into his third form. He was smaller then before, spikes jutting out strangely, head rather long and extended back. Most of his body was white armor now, with only his face and the side of his head, his hands and mid-wrist, and ankles were still deep purple.

Gohan was thrown several dozen feet away before Cooler once more reappeared and slammed him back in the other direction with a spinning kick. Silent fury was burning in his eyes as he appeared again and uppercut Gohan straight into the air.

Jumping skyward, Cooler raised his hands overhead and slammed them down into Gohans back, sending him crashing into the sands below twice as fast as he had been thrown up.

Cooler didn't wait for his enemy to reappear. He began firing off numerous Death Beams into the sand where and around the demi-saiyan had vanished to. To finish it off, he raised one hand overhead and commanded "Death Ball!", summoning the small dark orb of energy overhead.

* * *

'Come on. You aren't finished that easily. You still have the upper stages of Kaioken left.' Vegetto thought in annoyance, watching his son get thrown around by Cooler. 'If he's moving beyond your speed, you know what to do! Get up, Gohan.' he thought.

'I can still feel your ki!'

* * *

Throwing his hand downward with a shout, Cooler released his control and let it soar downward. It sank into the hole created by the death beams and vanished from sight. For several seconds nothing happened, and then it shot out of the hole straight back at Cooler.

And so to did Son Gohan, the red aura mixed with white energy floating around his body erratically, eyes narrowed as he drew back one hand.

Cooler back handed his attack at the charging demi-saiyan and watched as he raised his other hand, pressing it together, and just before contact with the death ball shouted "Masenko-ha!" the energy gathered previously appearing in his hands as he smashed them through the other attack, tearing it apart.

Carrying through with his downward motion, he twisting and spun before releasing and, effectively, throwing it at Cooler.

The yellow orb rushed forward and tore a hole through Coolers left arm before he had any chance to avoid it. The limb dangled uselessly on two thin strips of flesh, which, after a moment, snapped off and dropped to the ground.

The rage in Gohans eyes was still there as he rocketed forward and began simply pummeling the taller alien, rendering his transformation powerup helpless. Skin was torn off, bones were crushed inward, organs were damaged.

With a final shout and overhead kick, Gohan sent Coolers wrecked body crashing to the sands below. He panted after wards, leaning over and resting his hands on his knees, sore and getting tired already.

* * *

Piccolo finished off the last of the freaks Friezas family had brought to earth. He hadn't been fast enough to prevent the downfall of another city, but atleast he had saved most of the humans today. It was only now that he picked up on the towering power levels quite a distance away going at one another.

One was completely alien to him, but the other was very familiar. In one way that made him proud, to feel Gohan having grown so strong, but in another it made his gut wrench. "I'm sorry Son Gohan, but soon you will have to make the choice between myself and your father." he growled lowly.

"And I'll make sure that if you choose wrong, you won't live long enough to regret it." he swore, for now storing away his intentions to return to being the Demon King, and instead focus on figuring out a way to advance his strength even further.

* * *

Gohan dropped to the sands and approached Cooler cautiously. The other was very week, yes, but it didn't mean he didn't have a surprise in hand. "Your threat is over." he stated, giving his enemy a once over again, staring at his closed eyes, and raising his hands together he began the familiar chant. "Ka... me.."

Sure enough it was a trick. Coolers body shone with white light and began growing taller again, a low and thin energy shield arising around his body a couple of inches off the skin. Gohan narrowed his eyes and began pushing his energy together stronger.

"Ha.. me..." he chanted, waiting. When the transformation finished, Cooler slowly pushed upright, looking himself over. His left arm had regrown and he was at perfect health again. "HA!" Gohan roared, the energy beam rushing forward.

Cooler ignored it to check his left arm and hand out, ensuring everything was in proper condition. The beam exploded against his chest, doing no damage at all, and with a wave of his hand Cooler blew the smoke away and slowly stood up.

"You know, I had forgotten how good it felt to be in my original state again. Let me show you an example of just how powerful I have now become." he said slowly, drawing his hand back and, in an instant, slamming it through Gohans chest and out his back, tearing through one lung in the process.

Gohan hunched over and choked up a couple of mouthfuls of blood across Coolers middle-arm, eyes wide, and let out a scream of pain.

* * *

Vegetto watched his son and felt something stirring in him. 'It won't be enough, Gohan! Use the x10 Kaioken or it won't be enough!' he shouted mentally, knowing with only a fourfold Kaioken the kamehameha wouldn't work on Coolers new form.

But his son did not pick up on the message his father was silently trying to convey. The attack slammed into Coolers body and the other alien just brushed it off, and Vegetto had to watch as he drove one arm through Gohans chest, as though in slow motion.

'Damn it! He won't be able to survive like this! Did my arrogance fade into Gohan too far?' he shouted mentally, growing angry. Reaching to his belt he pried off the bag of senzu beans, thankful to have stopped by Master Karins on the way towards Chi-chi hours beforehand.

The bean was tiny, and only one was grown enough to be congested safely, but it could restore that hole in Gohans Body.

Shooting out he reappeared before Cooler once the other figure drew his arm out and tossed Gohan aside casually, as though he were a piece of trash to be discarded.

Vegetto both caught his son in one hand, slipping the senzu bean past his lips in the process, and picked up Cooler by the throat. "Bad move." the fused saiyan growled lowly, smashing their heads together before throwing Cooler aside in the same way as he had done Gohan.

Cooler was severely dazed by the blow and rolled along the ground like a rag-doll.

* * *

Gohan, finally getting the bean down, slid off his fathers hand to the ground, coughing a couple of times at the unusually bitter taste. Nevertheless, it worked, and his body began repairing it self rapidly, taking care of the wound in only a few seconds.

"Gohan, don't let your arrogance get in the way; I know that's wrong of me to say, but I had the power to back it up last time. You don't. You have to finish your enemy at full strength, before he can grow more powerful then you are!" he advised, seriously for once.

Gohan nodded his head slowly, having forgotten his father was nearby and taking care of the other power level.

He slowly stood up. "Thanks.. I think I can take care of it now." he said, narrowing his eyes as Cooler began to slowly shift. "Kaioken... x10!" he shouted.

The red and white aura burst to life around his body, as his muscles enlarged rapidly. He panted as a hint of pain raced through his veins, then kicked off the sand so hard it exploded into the sky fifty feet and slammed a fist into Coolers jaw, nearly dislocating it.

_That_ got his attention quickly and brought Cooler out of his daze. Gohan slammed a knee into his chest, snapping a couple of ribs and drving a cry of pain from the other alien, which motivated him to get moving again. Quickly powering up he smashed one hand into Gohans stomach, but it barely made his enemy move.

The demi-saiyan skull bashed Cooler in the face, breaking his nose and and knocking a couple of teeth out before grabbing him by one arm and beginning to spin in mid-air, rapidly gaining speed. Cooler snarled and lashed out with his tail, the only appendage still responding correctly to his orders, which wrapped around Gohans throat and began squeezing tightly.

Gohan grunted and raised one hand to it, wrapping his fingers tightly around the edge and crushing it in his grasp, bringing a shout of pain from his enemy. Releasing with the hand holding onto Coolers arm, he kept his grip on the tail and swung up, sending Cooler skyward.

The hint of pain from before raced along at a slightly stronger rate through his body, and Gohan had to pause and collect his breath before leaping up into the air after the other alien.

Vegetto frowned as he noticed Gohans pause. 'He shouldn't be having any trouble with this form.' he thought, starting to get worried again. Nevertheless, this was his sons fight, and he would not interfere again, flying off into the sky to watch from some distance away.

Cooler managed to flip himself upright just as Gohan met, another split-second Kamehameha growing in his hands. It engulfed Coolers upper body, but it wasn't at full strength. Gohan pulled back as he felt his ki start to drop for some reason. The other alien back handed him to the sand below.

Cooler shook off the attack slowly. "You insignificant worm... bringing the mighty Cooler so low today... but I have a trick my brother never learned." he growled, finally allowing his anger at todays, and the recent months, actions to break free. "You will see a power so great you will beg me for a swift death, but no, I will ensure you suffer for forcing me into this form..." he spoke slowly, as his body began to glow again.

Pain lanced through Gohans body as he kept up the Kaioken x10, forcing him to drop back to x4, and he watched with narrowed eyes, wondering where this was going, hoping that surely he was only powering up further, when he felt the others power level being rising steadily. "_Another transformation!?_" he shouted in exasperation as the glow faded, and the fifth and final form had been revealed.

* * *

Narrator: What troubles lay in wait for Son Gohan, with a fighter stronger than he, the Kaioken starting to fail him, and his father no longer going to intervene? Why does Piccolo keep referring to himself as the Great Demon King, and will he fall back truly into his old ways? Read on for a preview...

Cooler raised Gohan to the sky. "Your days are over, brat. Where is my brother being held!?" he demanded. Gohan, beaten to within an inch of his life, mustered the strength to spit a mouthful of blood into his enemies eyes.

It was too much. Cooler threw him into the sky and summoned one final Death Beam. And Vegetto was no where in sight.

Vegetto: 14'750'000(Base). Kaioshin: 523'000'000. Son Gohan: 2'400'000(Kaioken x2), 4'800'000(Kaioken x3), 9'600'000(Kaioken x4), 12'000'000(Kaioken x10). Piccolo: 1'600'000. Frieza(Current first form): 200'000. Cooler: 2'010'000(Second form), 4'020'000(Third form), 8'100'000(Fourth Form), 17'000'000(Fifth Form). King Kold(First form): 1'500'000.


	12. Chapter 12

Cooler flexed his fingers, testing them out, then cracked his neck a couple of times, and let out a soft sigh. "Aah... even better than before. I had missed this power, truly." as soon as he finished those words, Gohans left arm shattered at the elbow, dangling helplessly.

His eyes widened in shock as Coolers body reappeared, foot still pressed against the limb, and his afterimage vanished from where it had been standing. A moment later the pain fully processed and he shouted. Cooler smiled down a the demi-saiyan and another couple of blows destroyed his knee caps, sending him down on one arm, now screaming in pain.

"Now, do you see how weak and pathetic you are, saiyan?" Cooler questioned, leaning down and pulling him up by his hair. Gohans eyes were narrowed as he shouted "Kaioken x10!!!" and smashed his hand into Coolers unguarded face.

Or so he tried. Coolers right hand shot forward to catch it. "Such determination!" he laughed, and Gohan barely comprehended the knee rising before it slammed into his gut. "AAAAAAAAAGH!!" the demi-saiyan howled, eyes bulging out as he coughed up a mouthful of blood, spraying it across Coolers body.

The other alien glanced down at it in disgust for several moments, then released Gohans hair and backhanded him across the sands.

Gohans body dropped back into the second kaioken, and he felt his ki growing weaker by the moment, flesh stripped from the side of his face where he was hit. The burning sand that pressed into it as he crashed and rolled along only dragged another agonized shout from the demi-saiyan. He rolled over despite his protesting limbs and forced himself into the air.

He didn't even see Cooler, just felt the blows begin falling, skin being stripped off and bones crushed and shattered. His screaming continued as the pain began to overcome his senses, and within a few more punches he simply fell unconscious, unable to handle it.

Cooler tsked and dragged the demi-saiyan by one foot through the sand, ensuring it dug through his open wounds and began burning.

* * *

Above, Vegetto was shaking with repressed anger. 'Gohan can be revived with the dragonballs. This is his fight. Do not interfere.' he chanted, over and over again, even as it pained him to see his son being taken apart like this. He simply didn't understand why the kaioken had failed.

Gohan had handled a ten times kaioken on the way back from namek just fine by the time they landed. So why had he fallen now?! Why was it not working?

Vegetto growled lowly to himself, forcing his body to remain in place. He sensed another power level approaching from some distance away and glanced in its direction, seeing Piccolo racing forward. It was a welcome distraction. He shot toward the namekian.

Piccolo came to a dead-halt all of a sudden as Vegetto seemingly appeared from nowhere before him. "Piccolo! I see you've improved greatly... not enough to give me a challenge, or to help out below. But its good to see you aren't weak anymore." he spoke slowly, forcing himself to focus on the other figure.

Piccolo narrowed his eyes, then felt out for this aliens ki signature even as he responded "I do not know who you are, Saiyan, but I will exterminate you just like the rest of Friezas scum!" with a flare of yellow light from his pupils, Piccolo shot two lasers at the other alien.

* * *

Vegetto stood in place and tanked them with ease. "Apparently you haven't noticed the difference in our respective powers." he stated flatly. "I took Frieza apart in this form. What do you think you are capable of doing?" he questioned. Piccolo finally felt the familiar sense of ki, and took a step back. "... Goku?" he asked tentatively, but frowned.

"Why am I sensing both Goku and Vegeta in you??" he demanded, untrusting. Vegetto laughed humorously. "They fused together. Permanently. I was born in their place." he answered. "Whats impossible. Only Namekians can fuse." Piccolo growled, summoning dozens of white ki orbs around them.

Vegetto narrowed his eyes. "I'd be careful what you do now, Piccolo. I'm ten times as power--" "Hellzone Grenade!" Piccolo responded, clenching his hands shut and throwing himself towards the ground and out of the way. The orbs rushed forward and detonated around Vegetto, raising a large cloud of smoke.

The ki vanished, and Piccolo laughed darkly. "A nice bluff, saiyan, but you weren't capable of carrying it through!" he snarled, smirking. Something tapped him on the shoulder, and a voice said "I wasn't bluffing. Did you get stupid while we were on Namek?" Vegetto demanded.

Piccolo spun around, unable to believe his ears or his eyes, his innards going cold. "No... how... impossible!!" he declared. "Wrong. Superior speed." In between saying wrong and superior, Vegetto vanished and reappeared beside him, leaving an after image before the surprised namekian, then did so again, leaving yet another after image to his right, reappearing on his left.

"Kaioshin fused us together, and if you think you're surprised, I'd have loved to show you Friezas face when a lowly saiyan beat him into the ground." Vegetto told him with a hint of superiority and arrogance back in his voice.

* * *

Cooler raised Gohan to the sky. "Your days are over, brat. Where is my brother being held!?" he demanded. Blood oozed out of three holes in the demi-saiyans body where Deathbeams had pierced through him, one through his right lung, one through his right shoulder, and one through his left thigh.

Beaten to within an inch of his life ontop of these wounds, flesh missing from several pieces of his body and exposing the muscle and bone beneath, Gohan mustered the last of his strength to spit a mouthful of blood into his enemies eyes.

It was too much. Cooler threw him into the sky and summoned one final Death Beam, and with Vegetto no where in sight, the attack tore through Gohans heart.

Son Gohan was able to get out final gasp of pain before the light faded from his eyes, and his body smashed into the sands below, raising a small cloud of sand in the air around him.

* * *

Vegetto tensed up as he felt Gohans ki vanish. He slowly clenched his hands into fists, ignoring Piccolos words. "..." without a word, a red and white aura burst to life around the fused saiyan, and his power literally blew Piccolo end over end a hundred yards away. With a crack like a sonic-boom, he was gone, and Piccolo was once again thrown out of control.

* * *

Cooler picked up his unconscious father by the tip of one horn, shaking him awake. "You are pathetic." he declared, prying the scouter off and sliding it on over his own left eye. "Now I'm going to succeed you as the king of the Cold empire." with a grunt he threw his father behind him and spun to release a death beam, when a trio of things occurred.

The first was his scouter beeping to life and exploding right afterward's.

The second was the sound of King Colds body being run through by a fist in several places.

The third was Vegetto flaring his power and throwing Cooler into, and threw, the metal wall of the space ship with just a kiai.

Dropping King Cold to the floor, Vegetto marched forward slowly, the floor melting beneath the heat of the kaioken burning around his body. He approached the hole where Coolers body had exited and saw the other alien finally righting himself in mid-flip, summoning his mask into place.

Vegetto continued walking forward, dropping to the sand and crystallizing it in his wake. Cooler, ignoring the slight tingling at the back of his neck, a warning to leave, rushed forward and down, and began raining blows down on the fused saiyan. Vegetto continued walking forward despite this, approaching the mound of sand with Gohans body sticking out partially.

Cooler couldn't understand what was going on, and amped his power up to 50%, muscles bulging out slightly. Vegetto finally paused as he stood before Son Gohans body, and rain a hand along the remaining cheek slowly, a single tear falling from his momentarily softened eyes.

And then one hand was wrapped around Coolers throat and crushing it in, eyes back to burning with rage. "_How dare you..._" Vegetto growled lowly, raising his other hand and smashing it through Coolers chest, grabbing a hold of one lung, and ripping it out.

The other alien let out a sound of pain as best he could, hands grasping at the saiyans futilely.

Vegetto crushed the organ and yanked another free, the appendix, burning it away to ash. He burned away the stomach, kidneys, intestine', and other lung, before throwing him upward far into the sky, purple blood leaking out on the sand.

Raising each hand out to the sides, Vegetto murmured his attack. "_Gallick... Ka.. me.. ha... me._ " a sphere of purplish white light grew in his right hand, while a ball of orange-yellow light grew in his left. He locked his eyes on Coolers body, and slammed his hands together at the palm, crying out "_Haaaaaaaaahh_!!" as he did so.

The two bled together and the familiar beam of the kamehameha shot forth, tented purple with a stream of white fire spiraling around it. Cooler, barely hanging to life, was able to glimpse his death coming at him just before it enveloped him, erasing every last piece of his body, leaving nothing but ash behind.

A moment later, and Vegetto collapsed to his knees over Gohans remains, silently crying over the loss of his son.

* * *

On Kamis lookout, the Supreme Kai shook his head sadly. "Son Gohan has passed from this world. Once more his fathers arrogance and pride has cost him." he murmured lowly. Krillin looked shocked, but Kami was staring at him strangely. Ginyu frowned, not really knowing what to do.

* * *

Narrator: Son Gohan, dead? Yes, so it seems. Vegetto is taking it hard, knowing that he could have prevented it, despite the fact Gohan can still be revived. The threat of the Cold family has been erased, and things are going to soon be moving forward, but whats this? Read on for the preview!

A pale man with black-purple hair looked down on the scene below him with a frown. 'Did I come back too late?' he asked himself, making sure to keep his power level down to zero. With a careful examination of the surroundings, he shook his head. 'No, there's still time. I have to warn them before the Demon King makes his move!'

Vegetto: 14'750'000(Base). Kaioshin: 523'000'000. Son Gohan: 800'000(weakened base), 1'600'000(Kaioken x2), 2'400'000(Kaioken x3), 3'200'000(Kaioken x4), 8'000'000(Kaioken x10). Piccolo: 1'600'000. Frieza(Current first form): 200'000. Cooler: 17'000'000(Fifth Form 10%), 85'000'000(Fifth Form 50%). King Kold/Cold(First form): 1'500'000(Never entered: 3'000'000 Second form, 6'000'000 Third Form).


	13. Chapter 13

Vegetto remained as he was for some time, letting his rage and pain flow freely, until at last it was over. He slowly and stiffly stood up, Gohans ruined body in his arms, and floated into the sky. 'I will never allow this to happen again. Not even if it kills me.' he swore silently to himself, heading in Piccolos direction, but also towards the lookout.

* * *

Several minutes after this, a fading yellow and slightly chipping black machine hummed into existence, reality distorted around it as boosters in the four legs activated and slowly lowered it to the sand. Inside of the clear glass capsule, a figure is wrapped in brown cloak and hood up, obscuring the face in darkness, can be seen.

Reaching down, the figure presses a button and the lid of the machine pops open and back, allowing fresh air to reach them at last. They take several relaxing gulps of air before picking up an old and weathered dragonradar, then a small blue bag which is slipped beneath the cloak and tied off to the waist, to a pair of black jeans. This completed, the figure floats up and out of the machine.

With a quick feel for any other power levels, the figure lets out a sigh of relief and throws the hood back, then unties the cloak and quickly deposits it within the open top of the machine, which is capsulized with a vocal command and pocketed moments later.

Now out of the shadows, a pale man with black-purple hair is revealed. He wears a light blue gi over a black sleeveless t-shirt, his noted black jeans, and a pair of saiyan combat boots finishing the look out. He looked down on the scene around him with a frown, trying to place it. 'Did I come back too late?' he asked himself, making sure to keep his power level down to zero just in case someone else was around and waiting.

After a careful examination of the surroundings, he shook his head. 'No, there's still time. This seems to be just after the Cold empires attack. I have to warn them before the Demon King makes his move! But first...' clicking the dragonradar on, the teen waits for it to start up with a whirring sound and finally activate.

"Right, the first ones some miles south of here." with out another word, he begins racing along the surface at as rapid a pace as his concealed power level will allow.

* * *

Shortly atop the lookout, Vegetto lands and approaches Kaioshin. "Can you heal him." he demands lowly. The Supreme Kai shook his head. "No, I can not. I can only heal the living." he stated. Vegetto suppressed a snarl. "I tried to warn you before, if you continue in the same path of arrogance and pride as on the way back from Namek, your future will hold nothing but despair for you. Why do you not listen?" Kaioshin questioned with a hint of steel in his voice.

Vegetto had been about to float away when he heard those words. He slowly walked over to Krillin and handed his son to his best friend, then turned back to Kaioshin. "This would never have happened if you had not sat up here watching!" he growled. The Supreme Kai raised an eyebrow.

"What was stopping you from taking action??" he asked. Vegetto tensed up again. "You know you are more guilty than I, Vegetto. You should have eradicated the threat as soon as it appeared instead of letting your underpowered son fight it." Kaioshin stated with a tone of disapproval.

Vegettos hands were twitching and he was close to attacking the other alien, then shook his head sharply and approached Kami. "How long until the Dragonballs are ready again!?" he demanded.

Kami took a step back at the anger he could feel flowing off of the saiyan like a physical object. "Several months yet, Son Go-- _Vegetto_." he corrected.

"... Krillin... please take him home." without saying another word, Vegetto shot off into the air, heading towards West City and the location of the dragonradar.

"Man... I don't think I've ever seen him so angry before." Krillin said softly, cringing as he looked down at Gohans body. "Then again... He's got some pretty darn good reasons to be." the smaller man sighed as he floated into the air and began soaring towards Mount Paozu.

* * *

Several hours after arriving, and the teenager had all but two Dragonballs in his possession. The last two were currently held together and making their way towards him. He sighed, not wanting to meet the others just yet, but every day counted. The Demon King would be appearing sometime soon. It raised the prime decision he was faced with every day of his life for the last five years...

"If we kill the Demon King now, the Dragonballs turn to stone forever and both Gohan and Chi-chi remain dead. If we don't kill him now, he goes on to bring hell to earth. I know whats right, what should be done, but what about this eras Z-Fighters? How will father react to this??" he demanded, looking to the sky. "None of this would have occurred if that damn Kaioshin hadn't insulted father..." he murmured lowly.

Settling down on a slightly rough boulder, the teenager decided to wait for whoever was coming, and hope.

* * *

  
Vegetto, having two Dragonballs with him, didn't know what to think when the radar showed the other five grouped together. They never fell so close. Which meant that someone else was gathering them. With a low growl he put more speed on and shot forward towards the destination.

* * *

Above the lookout, Kaioshin was silently pacing the peremeter, lost in thought, Kami likewise deeply thinking and meditating. He could feel the evil in his other halfs soul growing more and more with every day that passed, and it worried him. Soon he would need to take action.

Ginyu was currently spending his time at Master Roshis, trying to learn more about this worlds culture.

With everyone preoccupied, no one noticed as Piccolo entered the Palace from a trapdoor on the underside, silently walking the halls towards the throne of Kami, not until it was too late.

With one hand pressed to the older namekians mouth, and the other against his chest, Piccolos mind lashed out against Kamis, and in the weakened state, the stronger of the two was easily able to sub-due the weakers will. "Your power will be mine, and the Demon King will be whole again, _Kami_." Piccolo snarled lowly as his better halfs body went limp, then ignited in blue flames

A few seconds later and Kamis body was gone, the Yugo fusion technique completed. The fused nameks power level would have sky-rocketed if he hadn't kept it concealed and lowered, not wishing to reveal his new strength just yet to the various enemies.

* * *

Vegetto landed to see a dark haired human surrounded by five of the dragonballs, waiting silently. "So who are you?" he demanded, "And how did you get a dragonradar?" he added. The teenager jumped, not expecting the voice to be so rough, angry, even though he had felt the power level from some distance away.

He slowly turned around and brushed a strand of hair from his face, looking at the fused saiyan slowly. "Well??" The teenager slowly stood up. "You... would be V-vegetto, right?" he asked slowly. Vegettos eyes narrowed. "Yes, I am. You still have not answered my questions."

The teenager nodded his head. "I have this dragonradar because it belonged to my mother." he responded. "As for my name... it's Son Trunks." he stated in a dead-pan.

* * *

Narrator: It seems Trunks is indeed too late! Demon King Piccolo has been reborn. But what threat can he hold to Kaioshin, or Vegetto? How will said fused saiyan react to Trunks answer? What did Trunks mean about Gohan and _Chi-chi _as well?? No preview is available this week, folks.

Vegetto: 14'750'000(Base), 147'500'000(Kaioken x10). Kaioshin: 523'000'000. Son Gohan: Dead. Piccolo/Demon King: 1'600'000(Concealed)/112'000'000(True base). Frieza(Current first form): 200'000. Teen Trunks: 4'000'000(Base).


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N We now begin the first chapter in the side story of a future gone wrong... showing what happened, and what was hoped to be avoided all the same. The saga of the Demon King!**

A few days after Gohans death, as well as that of his wife Chi-chi of a heart attack upon the news of her son, Piccolo approached the still distraught Vegetto. The saiyan had distanced himself from everyone, standing on the edge of the rocky plains overlooking the beginning of the desert where Cooler had landed. Nothing remained of the alien ships.

"Go away, Piccolo." Vegetto ordered in a low, dangerous tone. Piccolo ignored it and walked up to the fused saiyan, laying a hand on his shoulder and spinning him around. "How much longer do you intend to waste my time, saiyan?" he demanded. "I will kill you, and that damned kaioshin, soon enough. But I intend to earn a challenge out of it! Do you intend to waste your days away in this barren range?" he threatened.

Vegetto tensed up, then let out a low growl. "More of your arrogance, Piccolo... so be it. I'll knock you down a few pegs." he stated. Piccolo nodded his head in approval. "I see your backbone has begun to grow again. Come! Let us settle this in the Room of Spirit and Time." without another word, Piccolo shot into the air towards the lookout. Vegetto was right after him.

* * *

Several minutes later, and the two were locked inside for one year. 'Fool. Now the Kaioshin can not interfere, and you will die while I learn and perfect your kaioken technique.' Piccolo thought with a grim smile that bared his fangs. "I am no match for you now, saiyan, but with your kaioken I could easily defeat you. Will you be a coward and keep it to yourself?" he taunted, turning to face Vegetto.

The other alien had an ugly look on his face as his power level automatically snapped up ten times what it had been, a subconscious activation of the kaioken without even realizing it.

Piccolo took a step back in imitated fear, letting his eyes widen as he was blown end over end. "You want to learn the kaioken? After what you said?? And still you insult me? So be it, Namek. I will beat this technique into your skull even as it kills you!" with a low howl, Vegetto threw himself at the other.

* * *

Despite himself, Piccolo was unable to gain complete control over the technique, even after seven months of effort. At most he was able to attain an x3 level and maintain it for short amounts of time. Vegetto, however, was a brutal teacher, allowing his anger and pain to flow into his efforts. "Again!" the saiyan barked, as he swept Piccolos legs out from under him and sent the other alien crashing to the floor.

Piccolo grunted and leaped back up, taking a fighting stance. He had allowed his power level to leak out a little more, slowly gaining in strength to imitate an actual growth of ki like Son Goku had during the training of King Kai.

Blocking the first punch with a shout of "Kaioken x3!", Piccolos body flushed as the red aura formed around him, a strained expression on his face as he forced his ki from raising to maximum and then tripling, instead making his 4 million peak at 12.

Vegetto slapped the hand away and spun, delivering a powerful kick to the namekians head that downed him for an instant, just before several ki orbs shot forward, the Hellzone Grenade.

"Haven't you leaned by now? This technique will never harm me! You unleash it too soon!" he growled, throwing his hands forward and around his body in rapid succession, blowing the other ki orbs up with the machine-gun like bursts coming from his own hands.

In the resultant cloud of dust raised, Piccolo snarled and slammed a foot into the saiyans jaw, in his anger allowing his kaioken to fade as his real power briefly leaked over. If Vegetto had been a split-second slower in moving to the side to attack, his head would have been torn off.

Instead, his right shoulder was grazed and ripped the flesh for all seven layers off, in addition to cracking the white bone revealed open and allowing some of the inner marrow to seep free. The saiyan howled in pain and raised a hand to his shoulder, not noticing just how far above him Piccolos strength had gone before the namekian had it back under his control.

* * *

In the three months that followed, Vegettos arm had never healed properly, and despite himself, the saiyan knew it was useless. He severed it with a kienzen and wrapped the wound, until it healed over. In the mean time, Piccolo had finally reached the level of Kaioken x4, though it put his body through quite a lot to maintain it for more than a few seconds.

If he pushed past that, a fizzle appeared in his aura, and spread rapidly outward, draining his ki away.

Finally the time came when the door was about to open, and when it did, Piccolo knew he was good enough to handle the threat the Supreme Kai posed to his preciously designed plans, carefully adjusted over the last year.

"Even with Kaioken, you're still no match for me. This entire years been wasted." the saiyan called over to him, standing by the door. "You simply can't catch up to me." he stated. A moment later the door slid open of its own accord, and when it did, the first thing the saiyan saw was the red outfit of the Supreme Kai. He had a slightly panicked look in his eyes, power flared to maximum, and as soon as he saw Vegetto standing in place, drew on his telekinesis to grab the saiyan and throw him out into the coridor. "Flee, Vegetto, before this demon has the chance to kill you." the Kaioshin hissed at him as he shot forward.

Piccolo growled as he released the restriction to his power, allowing it to return to full strength, and was surprised to see it _had_ grown some. Grown rather nicely, in fact. With a wide smile that showed his fangs, Piccolo howled out "Kaioken, x4!" his power level peaked, and as the Kaioshins form slowed, Piccolo realized he had surpassed the other alien.

Shooting forward, Piccolo twisted and slammed a kick across the Supreme Kais jaw, the force behind it sending his foe off-balance. Grinning widely, Piccolo began laughing as he elongated one arm and caught the Kaioshin by the back of his long white hair, slamming him around into the walls and also into a now recovering Vegetto that had entered the room again, throwing the saiyan back into the hallway and through several walls, almost knocking him unconscious as he appeared in open sky and plummeted half-way down before his mind could figure out what had just happened.

* * *

Kaioshin reeled as a knee smashed its way into his stomach, eyes bulging outward slightly as he coughed up red blood across the slightly dusty floor. Piccolos assault did not end their, however, as his pupils flared and yellow beams erupted from them, piercing Kaioshins chest and earning another shout of pain.

"Unlike the saiyan, I won't be keeping any trophies!" the namekian mocked, skull bashing the Supreme Kai while the other was still trying to recover. Releasing his grip on the other aliens clothing, Piccolo kicked him in the chest where the beams had pierced, and allowed dozens of white ki spheres to appear around them as he sailed several feet before hitting the floor and rolling. Just incase the other alien had a way to escape in time, Piccolo began sinking power into the palm of each hand, gathering it for a Super Masenko.

"Hellzone Grenade!!" he shouted, clenching his fists and waiting to see... As predicted, Kaioshin, panting, opened one eye and vanished from sight, just as the spheres detonated, raising a large cloud of smoke. Swinging his hand at the back of the namekians head, Kaioshin could not believe his eyes as one hand appeared behind in time to catch it, squeezing down with brutal force and crushing the skin and bone alike.

Twisting around Piccolo raised his other hand above him. "Time to die, Kaioshin!" he growled, letting the power erupt and form a large yellow orb of ki in the palm of his open hand. The Supreme Kai stared at it for a split second before it came down at his head, and attempted to bat it aside, but his hands lacked the strength, being knocked aside.

Without the time to dodge or move the attack away, Kaioshin was forced to watch his own death descend on him and explode.

His chest was annihilated, revealing the inner organs down to the belly. His head and neck was also missing, as were pieces of each shoulder, thick red blood gushing out. Piccolo dropped the body to the ground and raised one hand to his face, running the thumb along his cheek and collecting a little of the blood there.

He brought it to his lips and licked it off, then said "On second thought... this ought to make a nice trophy, afterall."

* * *

Narrator: The beginning of the nightmare that would become Trunks future... What can Vegetto do now that his strongest technique can be surpassed by three times as much energy by his enemy? What is Piccolo/Demon King going to do now that the Kaioshin has been eliminated? Read on for a preview...

Vegetto recovered and felt the increases in strength Piccolo went through rapidly. A thought suddenly occurred to him. 'Kami... he merged with kami again... you sorry ****ing bastard!!" his thought became a shout as he realized he had been used.

Without the strength to defeat his enemy, however, the saiyan knew he had to let Kaioshin do the job. It was to his surprise that he felt the Supreme Kais strength wane and vanish all together. "No... how?!"

From several miles away, the man known as Dr. Gero watched what was happening, thanks to this spy bugs, with a very deep scowl. "This is not going according to plan! Androids 17 and 18 still need time to be finished, and Cell is years away!" the man glanced around his laboratory and let his eyes rest on the capsules marked "Nos. 13, 14, 15."

Vegetto: 12'700'000(weakened base). Kaioshin: Dead. Son Gohan: Dead. Piccolo/Demon King: 135'000'000(Base), 270'000'000(Kaioken x2), 405'000'000(x3), 540'000'000(x4). Frieza: 200'000.


	15. Chapter 15

Vegetto flipped himself rightside up and turned towards the lookout, recovering from the blow. Right away, even from this far down, he could feel the power flowing off of Piccolo, his strength so far surpassing the saiyans it made him look like an insect by comparison. Even with a ten times kaioken, he still couldn't match the namekians power level right now!

For a few moments he was at a loss to figure out how this had happened, before a thought suddenly occurred to him. 'Kami... hs merged with Kami again! Before he even approached me a year ago!' his temper flared at the thought of being used. 'You worthless, damn bastard!" he growled to himself as thought became word, and he briefly considering racing forward to confront the coward.

But his logical sense of mind prevailed over his anger. Without the strength to defeat his enemy, loath as he was to admit it, the Kaioshin was the only one capable of defeating him.

It was thus to his surprise that he felt the Supreme Kais strength begin to wane. 'No.. he can't have surpassed you as well!' Vegetto thought, concentrated harder. But it was true. The purple skinned deity was losing energy at such a rapid pace that within only a few more moments, his ki vanished all together. And that meant but one thing... Kaioshin was dead.

* * *

From several miles away, Dr. Gero watched the events in the Room of Spirit and Time as well as around the lookout on a dozen screens, deep within a mountain base. With his multiple spy bugs, it was a simple matter. But he was deeply disturbed by what he was seeing, a deep set scowl was on his face.

"This is not going according to plan! I need far more time to complete Android 17 and 18s energy drive system, as well as their damn control chips." he swore, clenching his hands into fists. "Let alone Cell! Even with the skin samples of the group that came back to earth, he will be another decade away at the earliest!"

The man glanced around at his laboratory, considering his options. The bugs were equiped with power reading programs and capabilities, so he was well aware of just how strong his enemies were.

He paused on the capsules set in the wall across from Androids 17 and 18. These capsules were marked "Nos 13, 14, 15." and inside of them, partially complete machines lay in wait. He narrowed his eyes and approached them, glancing inside at each of them, his plans for the three coming to the forefront of his mind.

'I could merge them together as they are now. Android 13 would not be as powerful as a completed absorption would have rendered him, but I do not have the time to sit around and wait for things to be completed! That wretched demon nearly conquered the planet several years ago!' making up his mind, Dr. Gero tugged his shirt off his head and dug his fingers into the flesh of his right pectoral, digging into and through to the bone beneath. Or what should have been bone.

With a slight wince as remote pain sensors alerted him to minor damage, he tore the flesh off entirely, revealing a slightly dull iron-gray panel set into an equally dull metal upper chasis, the second stages of his convertion to an android himself. Only his head and right arm remained fully flesh and blood, still human.

Running his hands along the panel, he dug into the smallest of indention's with his fingernails and pried the hatch open, revealing a very small black device in an enclosed metal box. He took ahold of the device with blood stained fingers and began slowly inputting a six digit code into the numpad it contained.

When he was through the lights in the area dimmed and a computerized, feminine voice questioned "Remote termination of separate projects Android 13, Android 14, Android 15, authorization confirmation?" The man growled his answer aloud. "Confirm." "Confirmation. Power to the energy drives of Android 13, Android 14, Android 15 have been terminated. Proceed to project Super 13?" it asked.

"Confirm." Gero answered. "Confirmation. Scrapping Android 14, Android 15, the necessary parts for Android 13 will be salvaged and combined. Estimated time of completion: 2 days, 6 hours, 19 minutes, 4 seconds." it informed him before the lights returned to normal power.

* * *

Piccolo floated Kaioshins bloody corpse behind him as he exited the Room of Spirit and Time, leaving a trail behind him all the way, a sadistic and satisfied smirk on his face. "I believe the time has come to rebirth the sons of the Demon King." he said aloud, considering the idea.

"With all of my power, the saiyan has no chance to survive. Why should I waste my own time hunting him down personally?" he asked himself as he arrived at the throne room where Kami had always sat. Raising a hand before himself he used his magic to alter his outfit into one more reminiscent of King Piccolos, then likewise altered the throne to a more fitting design of terror.

He hung Kaioshins carcass above the doorway and pinned it in place with summoned spikes through the middle arms and knees.

Satisfied, he closed his eyes and concentrated. While he himself had never done this, his... father, of sorts, had done it no less than five times. After a few moments he felt the stirring deep in his chest and suddenly felt it rise up his throat and into his mouth, before a large egg fell out to the floor and cracked open.

A thin, namekian-like figure with hints of the original Drum in him, such as large muscles, no nose, wide eyes, and the scaly skin and wide fangs, was left behind, covered in thick white slime. The mutated namekian stood up and uncrossed his arms, slowly opening his eyes with a low intake of air.

He turned to Piccolo and crossed his arms over his chest confidently. "So, Demon Lord. Your bidding?" he requested in a low rasping voice that conveyed his arrogance and pride. Piccolo smiled at him. "Hunt down the saiyan. He's the next strongest earthling after ourselves." he ordered.

The mutated namekian dropped into a low bow. "And my name, Demon Lord?" he questioned. "... Kami." he smirked at the thought of using that name for his newest servant, mocking the former god of the planet.

Kami rose. "So you say and so it is. The saiyan will die by Kamis hand." he said with a hint of sarcasm tinting his voice, apparently aware of the irony of the name, and then rushed off to do as commanded.

* * *

Vegetto landed at Master Roshis island. He had kept his power level as low as he could and still fly, and it took him some time to arrive. When he had he pushed the door open and approached Ginyu. The other alien looked him over with a wary eye.

"What happened to you?" Ginyu questioned. "Later! Right now you are the earths last hope." Vegetto stated flatly.

"Whats that now?" Master Roshi interrupted, walking in slowly. Krillin was behind him, and gasped at the sight of his armless best friend. "That damn coward Piccolo merged with Kami again. He's become ten times stronger then I am right now... and he tricked me into teaching him the Kaioken technique in the Room of Spirit and Time! Kaioshins dead, and as much as I hate to say it, the only one of us capable of ending this is Ginyu." Vegetto explained rapidly, turning back to the taller alien.

"Your body-change technique is the only thing that can save the earth. Once you are in his body, we can kill him." Vegetto stated. Ginyu raised an eyebrow in consideration. 'Kaioshins dead, huh? And you're too weak to do anything about this... heh heh heh, what a gift you just handed me!' Ginyu thought, pushing his glee down at the thought and forcing his face to remain neutral. "Alright. Wheres he at?"

* * *

Narrator: What lays in wait for the Z-Fighters? Will Ginyu succeed, and if he does, are they merely trading one tyrant for another? What about Dr. Geros plan? Can Super Android 13 hope to defeat Piccolo, even without his energy being sensed? Read on for a preview...

Kami casually knocked aside Tiens ki burst, Chaozu laying dead at his feet. "So, my memories are a little vague, but you do remind me of a saiyan. Got anything to say before I kill you?" he asked, preparing to fire a masenko.

Tien, eyes slowly leaking tears, pushed up to his knees and raised both hands into what looked like a praying position. "Begging for your life? How disgrac--" "Shin-Kikoho!" the man howled, hands suddenly shifting into a locked triangle. "Wha--"

Vegetto: 12'700'000(weakened base). Piccolo/Demon King: 135'000'000(Base), 270'000'000(Kaioken x2), 405'000'000(x3), 540'000'000(x4). Kami: 22'000'000. Frieza: 200'000. Android 13: 20'000'000(Incomplete), Android 14: 15'000'000(Incomplete), Android 15: 14'000'000(Incomplete). Dr. Gero: 200'000. Ginyu: 120'000.


	16. Chapter 16

Kami soared over the pathetic earthlings below, eyes roaming over every one of their faces as he passed, comparing it with the vague memories passed on from his father of what the saiyans looked like. Even if they seemed similar, he felt out for any strong power levels as well for confirmation.

After what seemed to be twenty minutes he had reached a small village in the outskirts of civilization, where a strong power level was hidden. 'Got you, dirty saiyan. Think you can hide from _Kami_?' he thought with a snort, dropping down out of the sky and unleashing a flare of power that wiped out everything in sight. The rough huts and frozen snow were burned down in an instant, leaving nothing but blackened and scorched craters that vanished into the earth, impossible to see the end of.

He dropped to the ground across from these craters and smiled, just before he felt the power level from before suddenly appear again behind him. "Kikoho!" a strong males voice cried out, as a burning wave of white energy engulfed him from behind.

The mutated namekians skin wasn't even singed by the effort, and he slowly turned around, blowing the smoke away as he did. "So. You thought _that'd_ do the trick? Stupider than believed, saiyan." he declared, vanishing from sight with how fast he moved.

* * *

Tien, garbed in strange winter cloths, looked all around him for the alien figure, even as the sight of it and its words sent a chill down his spine in remembrance. A soft cry of pain from above him caught Tiens attention and his head snapped up to see Chaozu, held in mid air, being stripped of flesh and clothing with invisible blows.

He was about to shoot up to save his best friend when the others words caught his attention. "Special Beam Canon!"

As though in slow motion, Tien twisted around to see the enemy had two fingers locked together before his face, coming down straight towards the mans heart, while his other hand was raised at Chaozu. A spiraling beam of energy erupted from the fingertips and tore through Tiens chest like a knife through paper, punching out his back and narrowly missing his spine.

One lung was partially destroyed in the attack and slipped out of the frontal hole on the stream of red blood that rushed out. It took two seconds for him to process he had been so badly wounded, staring down at his lung falling to the white-turning-pink snow before him on his precious life fluid.

His eyes clenched shut and he gasped in pain, raising a hand to try and block the flow even as his legs gave out on him and he dropped to one knee, the suddenly motion shaking even more blood out. His vision was beginning to narrow and tunnel, but he had suffered similar wounds in the past, and he forced himself to fight past it.

A scream from above helped in that endeavor as Chaozus small, bloody corpse sailed from the sky to crash and be impaled on the enemies outstretched hand, driving right through his skull in the process.

Tiens eyes widened at the sight, his body locking up for a split-second, before he howled and threw as much power into his attack as he could, a large ki blast from one hand.

Kami casually knocked aside Tiens ki burst, throwing the smaller mans dead body to the others feet. "So, my memories are a little vague, but you do remind me of _a_ saiyan. Nappa, was it?" he asked with a snap of his fingers, grinning in a way that bared his fangs fully, and leaned down. "Got anything to say before I kill you?" he asked, pushing energy into his hands in preparation for a Masenko.

Tiens eyes were blurring up with tears as he looked down on Chaozus ruined body, his other leg giving out on him and leaving him hunched over the body. Kami shrugged casually and leaned back up, raising one hand to his head again.

Tien slowly pushed back up to his knees and raised both hands into what looked like a praying position, eyes closed in concentration even as more tears leaked out around them. Kami lost his grin and sneered at the sight."Begging for your life? How disgrac--" "Shin-Kikoho!" the man howled, hands suddenly shifting into a locked triangle as his power, and life, flooded out in a wave far beyond the original. "Wha--"

* * *

Dr. Gero finished stitching the flesh back into place and severed the thread, dropping the needle onto the table beside him. He slid his shirt back on over this, once more hiding the remote control to his computer, and approached the monitors across from him.

On it he noticed the demon staring directly into the bugs eye, holding it lightly by the wings. "I don't know who you are, but you just made a very large mistake in studying me, human." Piccolo spoke softly, belaying the anger he felt. "..." "Whats this?" spinning the bug around, the camera shifted to just above the throne, and the demon began laughing suddenly.

Dr. Gero approached the keyboard set out before the monitors and began typing rapidly into it, but it was too late. Just before the bug self-destructed, the words "Red Ribbon Army will--" were transmitted. "Damn it!" he shouted, slamming a fist down beside the keyboard and smashing right through the iron table.

"Computer! Priority code 69I4HH2; Estimated time for project Cell' completion!" he ordered. The lights did not dim, and nothing seemed to change, but along the bottom corner of one monitor words began racing along rapidly. His eyes scanned them and he growled loudly, for they had read "15 years, 2 months, 9 weeks, 5 days, 22 minutes, 3 seconds."

_

* * *

_

Outside of the kame house, "You'll never be able to suppress your power level, and even if you did, he would just kill you. Krillin, are you sure you want to go with Ginyu?" Vegetto asked. "Y-yeah. I mean, when has Taiyoken ever failed me?" he asked nervously. "Don't take any stupid chances. Stun him, and get out of the way so Ginyu can body switch without trouble." Vegetto ordered.

"You got it, buddy." Krillin agreed, nodding his head vehemently. "I'd offer you luck, but I doubt it would work in your favor." Master Roshi said gravely, adjusting his grip on his walking stick. "I have to agree." Vegetto stated flatly.

"Lets do this already." Ginyu said, grabbed Krillin and slapping the man to his back. "Hold on tightly to my belt and don't let your legs show!" the taller alien instructed and shot into the air. Krillin yelped in surprise but managed to hang on, barely. Vegetto watched them go with a feeling of dread.

"I just sent them to their deaths, didn't I?" he asked softly, eyes hardening. "... lets hope not." Master Roshi evaded, the two watching the others fly higher into the sky.

* * *

The far stronger white beam engulfed Kamis body and burned the first few layers of skin away on his chest, while taking away his entire left arm and both legs beneath the knee. The mutated namekian fell to the ground, purple blood oozing out of the stumps where his limbs ended suddenly, as well as dripping out of the holes in his upper body.

Tien panted and lowered his arms from the exertion of just one shin kikoho, his body already taxed enough as it is without the suicidal move adding onto his plate. Still, it wasn't enough. The enemy before him coughed and pushed up with his good arm, growling lowly as, with a sickening_ sknit_, all three limbs burst down from the wound, clear slime along them.

Tiens eyes widened a fraction from the move as he recognized it for what it was, namekian regeneration. "H-how..?" Tien asked, before raising his hands once more and coughing out "Shin-Kikoho!" the wave of power rushed from his locked hands, but this time Kami twisted aside, barely avoiding it.

His eyes were not as furious as one might expect. "So. You wounded me." he rasped in a low growl, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not bad. But you aren't the saiyan I'm looking forward." he stated. "And," he paused to jump out of the way of another wave.

"You're killing yourself even faster with that move. I don't even have to kill you." he stated, floating into the air. "Its crueler to leave you bleeding out here." with another grin, Kami waved one hand and paralysed the mans body with magic before rising further into the sky and shooting off, leaving Tien to die on his own. The mans body collapsed forward his best friend, the last of his strength leaving him as he did so, forcing him to stare at Chaozus mutilated corpse in his final moments on the earth.

* * *

Entering the lookout at last, Ginyu slowly walked towards the location his rudimentary power sensing ability was pointing him. Krillin still hung to his back silently, praying to kaioshin in other world that this paid off.

Finally pausing outside the room of the Demon King, Ginyu glanced behind him to Krillin, who nodded his head and let go. The human shot around with his hands splayed out beside his face, crying out as he did so "Taiyoken!" and triggering the golden flare of light.

"Nngh!" Piccolo shouted, eyes clenched shut in pain as he raised an arm before his face. Ginyu rushed in, knocking Krillin out of the way as he did so, and yelled "Body Change!" Another flare of light appeared, a blinding white light this time as a beam rushed from Ginyus outstretched body towards Piccolos, only a few feet away.

He felt it hit and was suddenly dragged into another body, as Piccolos was soul was forced into Ginyus. When the light faded and Ginyu could see properly again, he noticed his body was exceedingly short. "What just happened??" he asked in a low voice.

A hand wrapped around his throat from his original body, while another picked up Krillin in the same way, turning towards the not-so-empty throne, though keeping Ginyu facing a wall. Piccolo sat still in his throne, completely fine, an angry expression on his face. "Did you fools honestly believe I would not sense your presence? That I could not read your minds and pick this plan out from a mile away?" he demanded.

"I birthed Katas as soon as I felt you land!" he growled, staring at the body Ginyu was now resting in. A minuscule, green skinned namekian child wearing the demon outfit and a passing resemblance to Piano. "Kill them." Piccolo ordered sharply. The figure in Ginyus body smiled and exerted a bit of pressure, crushing the throat of his original body in the process. Krillins neck was snapped, but he wasn't killed yet.

* * *

"Do you want him displayed as trophy until he dies as well, Demon Lord?" Katas-in-Ginyus-body asked. "... That is a good idea, Katas." summoning more spikes, and pulling the weak humans body out of the others grip, he pressed Krillin beside Kaioshins form and slammed them through in the same place.

To the mans horror, he could not feel it. He was forced to stare at the decapitated, mangled body of both of the other figures hanging beside him, for Frieza was likewise pinned. "They hide at the Kame house some miles from here. Go! Find Kami and bring him there." Piccolo ordered.

Katas bowed. "As the Demon Lord commands." he answered, then turned and stood back up, floating into the air.

* * *

Vegetto felt Krillins ki drop dramatically and vanish off his radar. He also felt the brief drop of Ginyus before he too vanished for a moment, returning somewhat weaker than before. "It worked... somehow it worked!" he murmured, standing up straight and turning to face Master Roshi.

"It worked!" he told the older human. Master Roshi let out a relieved sigh of breath. Turning back to the direction of the Lookout, Vegetto waited for Ginyus power level to vanish all together. And waited. And waited some more. He began to frown again.

"Something... isn't right. Piccolo in Ginyus body should be dead. He isn't." the saiyan stated, feeling for where the power level was going. When he did that, he soon felt another one also above his original base level, but still below him with Kaioken.

"Damn it... if I fight him with that, Piccolo will know exactly where I am!" he shouted in anger, letting his emotions flow out more and briefly rising back to full power. The gust of wind generated from the sudden rise sent Master Roshi tumbling backwards and nearly flattened the house.

* * *

Narrator: It would seem hope is a fragile creature, and not one the Z-Fighters can hold on to for long. With only himself, Master Roshi, and Yamcha left, what darkness awaits their future? Will Super 13 be capable of holding his own against Piccolo? Read on for a preview...

Vegetto landed before the instructed location, and after a bit of brief searching, located the painted iron doors in the side of the mountain. Dragging them open, he stepped inside and saw one of his old enemys' standing inside.

"Dr. Gero." he stated flatly. "... Son Goku. Or would you like Vegeta?" the man growled. The lights dimmed to red as the computer began speaking loudly. "Warning, warning, namekian DNA approaching."

Vegetto: 1(Hidden). Piccolo/Demon King: 135'000'000(Base). Kami(Demon): 22'000'000, Katas(Demon): 500. Frieza: 200'000. Dr. Gero: 200'000. Ginyu: 120'000. Tien: 30'000, 300'000(Kikoho), 20'000'000(Shin Kikoho). Krillin: 23'000.


	17. Chapter 17

Calming himself, Vegetto turned to Master Roshi. "Even with a twenty times Kaioken I can't beat Piccolo. Without the dragon balls, no one can be brought back to life." he said. Roshi frowned, feeling something was different about Vegetto. "Why do you almost seem... unworried?" the old man questioned.

"Even if that bastard kills me, there is still hope. With this fused body, I should be able to return for 24 hours to earth whenever I choose to. I can continue my training in Other World until the day comes when I can surpass Piccolos strength, and when that happens, he _will_ die. I doubt my mortal body can handle anything above the twenty times Kaioken, but the spirit is stronger. A theoretical fifty times Kaioken is all I need to overwhelm Piccolo and destroy him." the fused saiyan explained.

Master Roshis mouth was open in disbelief. "I don't plan to be killed, but if it happens, at least I'll be ready for it." Vegetto stated with a hint of his old arrogance seeping into his voice.

"We need to move at any rate. They're sure to know where we are hiding after Ginyu and Krillin's failed attack." he added. Roshi just shook his head and turned to walk back in. "This is getting ridiculous." the old human muttered, starting to pack up everything of value, which consisted of pretty much his porno mags and a sleeping bag.

* * *

Katas soared through the air in the direction Kami was vaguely being sensed in. This body's flight control was taking harder to get working properly than he expected, let alone accurate ki sensing, so it was with a grunt the mutated namekian flipped the scouter on and began fiddling with the settings before finally locating his brethren.

"There!" with a cry of triumph, he adjusting his direction and began heading towards Kami.

* * *

Dr. Gero paced back and forth before his monitors, the spy bugs relaying info on the situation. As much as he hated Son Goku, the greater threat to his rule and and revenge was the infernal demon, Piccolo. Slowly he came to the conclusion that, should Super 13 be less powerful than his estimations were putting out, the saiyans aide would be needed.

If nothing else he would prove as a distraction, canon fodder for Super 13 to get the true, and final, blow in against Piccolo. With a resigned growl, he approached the keyboard and typed in the instructions for bug #9928, the one watching the Kame House.

* * *

"Saiyan! If you hold any hope for the survival of this planet, you will come to the following coordinates, or doom us all with your inaction!" the mechanical voice from the bug floating above Vegetto and Master Roshi boomed down at them.

Roshi jumped unexpected from the noise, but Vegettos eyes roamed the sky, locating the tiny bug within moments. He shot upward and caught it in between the fingers of his remaining hand.

"And who are you?" Vegetto questioned, spinning the bug around. To his surprise, the Red Ribbon armies insignia was left behind. He slowly let it go with a frown on his face. "... I'm listening." he stated. The bug relayed the precise information needed, then self-destructed in his hand.

Vegetto shook the smoke and scrap metal pieces off his hand and turned to Master Roshi. "Change of plans." he said. "So I heard." the old man responded in aggitation, fingers in his ears at the noise level. A few moments later, and the duo were flying towards a certain mountain range.

Left behind, forgotten, the Turtle stuck his head out from beneath the house and sighed. "Forgotten about _again_!" he muttered dejectedly.

* * *

Kami cracked his neck as he tilted his head to the side to avoid Yamchas Wolf Fang Fist. With a sigh he slammed a fist into the other mans gut, nearly punching out the spine, if he hadn't put as little effort into the attack as possible.

Yamcha choked up a couple mouthfuls of blood across Kamis arm and shoulder, eyes bulging outward. Drawing his arm back out, the mutated namekian picked him up by the top of his hair. "So. You're pathetic." all around them, the crowded baseball stadium could only stare in silent, open mouthed awe.

Kami glanced around at all the people watching and smiled slightly, baring his fangs. "So, you want a homerun?" he asked in a low rasp that showed just how much he was about to enjoy this. Yamcha attempted to kick his enemy in the head, but Kami brought up one arm to block. Yamchas leg shattered on contact, the bones jutting out through the skin, blood dripping off them.

Yamcha screamed, and so did several others.

"One home run coming up." Kami stated, dragging Yamcha into air by his hair, two feet off the ground, then released, twisted, flipped, and snapped his leg straight up into Yamchas chin in mid air.

With the sound of flesh ripping and bone cracking, Yamchas teeth were smashed to pieces as his jawbone broke and pierced the skin in three places, but that was hardly the worst of it. His head was torn from his neck, blood gushing from the neck as the body collapsed to the ground. He was aware of the agony for a full fifteen sections, long enough to see just how far he soared into the sky, well out of the stadium, before dying.

His skull crashed half a mile away and was scattered across the pavement. Kami knelt down and ran a hand along the blood spurting out of the remains of the neck, catching it in the palm of his hand, and brought it up to his lips to drink.

Atlast the crowd lost it, screaming in absolute terror and running away from the demon before them.

Kami smiled again. But his fun was interrupted by the tall form of Katas newly acquired body landing beside him. "I didn't know the Demon Lord assigned you the mission of killing humans." he said in admonishment.

Kami turned his head to study Katas. "So. Who're you?" he questioned, refraining from striking only because of the others mention of the Demon Lord. "Katas, son of Piccolo Daimou the second, Demon Lord. Just as you are Kami, son of Piccolo Daimou the second, Demon Lord." Katas responded with annoyance.

Kami stood up. "You don't look like me." he stated. "The other alien the saiyan brought with him could switch bodies. The Demon Lord sensed their presence and plan and birthed me minutes before they attempted the process on him." Katas explained.

Kami considered it. "The other human, Krillin was with him. Stupid human. What good is the Taiyoken against the Demon Lord?" Katas demanded. "So, they're dead?" Kami wanted to verify. Katas lightened up for a moment to grin. "Not yet. The human received the same punishment as the fallen tyrant. But enough talk! The saiyan hides at the Kame House." he stated, before the scouter began beeping again.

Katas frowned and tapped it a few times before the power level reading adjusted and pointed him in another direction. He smiled slightly and said "No, he flees to another place."

* * *

Vegetto landed before the instructed location, setting Master Roshi down, and after a bit of brief searching, located the painted osmium door in the side of the mountain. He looked for any sort of handle, but the metal was perfectly smooth, which is what clued him in on it being irregular in the first place.

He floated into the air to the point where metal met stone at the top, and dug his fingers into the surface, crushing the stone as needed until he had his finger tips on the other side of the metal, then began dragging it open slowly. To his surprise, the door was barely inching. With a concentrated frown, he amped up his power with a four fold kaioken, but it barely lightened. Frowning he went to ten times kaioken. After twenty seconds he had it opened fully, though the door screeched from being hauled open in such a way.

Sweating from the effort, Vegetto let it go and dropped to the ground, allowing his power level to drop back to base, and then concealing it again. He glanced into the darkness, then walked forward and after entering twenty feet, saw someone he never thought he would again.

One of his oldest enemies stood, arms at his side, a furious expression on his face. "Dr. Gero." he stated flatly. The old semi-android gave a mock bow, never losing his black hat, and stood back up. "... Son Goku. Or would you like Vegeta?" the man growled, displaying his knowledge of their fused state.

Vegetto frowned. "Vegetto." he corrected. Gero scoffed and turned his back on the saiyan. "Follow me, saiyan." he growled. Before he could walk anywhere, however, the lights dimmed to red as the computer began speaking loudly. "Warning, warning, namekian DNA approaching at a rate of 500 kilometers per second." Gero whipped back around to stare at the open doors. "Emergency Over-ride Lock down!" he shouted. "Authorization code: Z621K3L11!" he added.

The gears in the doors began grinding as they started closing. Vegetto realized Master Roshi hadn't followed him. "Damn it! Kaioken times--" "STOP!" Dr. Gero shouted over him. "The old man is immortal!" Vegetto glanced out the doorway, towards Gero, then flared his power level ten times again anyway and shot forward.

* * *

Dr. Gero cursed him as the fused saiyan shot out the door, his hand snatching a piece of Master Roshi's outfit, then hauling him back towards the rapidly diminishing space. With less than a second to go, they weren't going to make it. "TIMES TWENTY!!" Vegetto roared, dropping the old man to the ground and slamming his shoulder between the two surfaces, blocking metal from meeting stone with his body.

"Hurry!" Vegetto growled at Master Roshi. Slightly dazed, the human picked himself up and began approaching as fast as he could as smoke began rising from the hydraulics behind the door. Metal was starting to crumple around the edge, as was stone.

With Roshi safely inside, Vegetto slid his body forward and through. A split-second later the door slammed shut. A crack of light shined through from the damage. "You damn fool! You have compromised the safety of my laboratory for the worthless old man! Did you not hear the word IMMORTAL!?" he growled loudly.

Vegetto was about to defend his action with a voice from outside began speaking. "So, this is where the Saiyans hiding?"

* * *

Piccolo rose from his throne and began walking along the palace, until at last he located Mr. Popo hiding in the Pendulum Room. "Did you think you could hide here forever?" he demanded. Mr. Popo stood up and bravely approached. "I did not seek to hide from Kamis slayer. I sought to find... his destroyer!" he stated without fear.

Piccolo laughed. "You know no one can travel from the past or future to the present, foolish servant. Die!" with a thrust of his hand, Piccolo erased Mr. Popos body with a flare of ki. If he had not been so haste in his actions, he might have noticed the subtle ki waiting near the roof. But he did not. He did not believe someone could come forth to fight against him. It is a mistake that would haunt him in the time to come, but for now, Piccolo returned to his throne, never knowing a secret of the Pendulum Room.

While it is true no one from the past can be brought forward... those from a future that will no longer exist some day _can_ be brought to the present. The green and black skinned thing clung to the roof, power level at 1. And deep within it, a powerful figure lay in wait.

* * *

Dr. Gero turned and rushed deeper into the tunnel that led to this laboratory. Vegetto and Master Roshi followed behind warily. "Emergency Over-ride procedure 5! Authorization Code: 911362131154!" he shouted. The tunnel walls began rumbling and far behind, pieces of false wall began falling down as five inch thick osmium doors began sliding forth from roof to floor, blocking access.

At least five of these appeared, truly sealing the tunnel off and trapping the three figures within the relatively small laboratory near the core of the mountain.

"Now what?" Vegetto demanded. "Now? Now, you damn saiyan, now we wait for my android to finish his completion process! And hope it can defeat the sons of the demon you should have killed years ago!" Dr. Gero snapped, even more furious now than before.

* * *

Narrator: What has Mr. Popo brought back from the future? What does it mean, that the thing has come from a future that will no longer exist? What will happen when Super 13 awakens?? Read on for a preview...

The capsule lid cracked open with the hiss of steam being released, and slid to the floor. A blue skinned, orange haired, silver armored machine sat up. He locked eyes on Vegetto and pushed up. "Saiyan identified. Termination delayed. Primary targets of demon, namekian origins must be eliminated." he commanded in a powerful, grating voice.

"Super 13, what is your power level?" Dr. Gero asked. Super android 13 turned to his creator, just as the wall to the side of the last osmium door collapsed and Kami stood there. "Primary target 3 acquired."

Vegetto: 1(Hidden). Piccolo/Demon King: 135'000'000(Base). Kami(Demon): 22'000'000, Katas(Ginyu body): 27'600. Frieza: Dead. Dr. Gero: 200'000. Ginyu: Dead. Tien: Dead. Krillin: 2. Android 13(Incomplete): 20'000'000. Yamcha: 10'000. Mystery: 1(Hidden).


	18. Chapter 18

Katas clicked the scouter off and nodded his head. "They're in there. Filthy saiyans hiding his presence." he responded to Kamis question. Kami smiled. "So. Look how offering he is, leaving the door open for us." he said with sarcasm lacing his tone, approaching the damage in the wall and door and sliding his hands between them.

He exerted some strength and began tugging on the door, but it wasn't moving. Starting to frown the mutated namekian pushed his full power into it. It barely budged a centimeter. Panting in frustration, Kami threw himself back and charged up his ki into his hands. "Masenko-ha!" he growled lowly, bringing his hands overhead and slamming them down where stone and metal met.

The explosion rocked the door outward slightly but melted the rock down by several feet. Sliding forward easily now he turned to face Katas with a low growl. "Come."

* * *

The explosion traveled down the tunnel and the sound, though very muted, reached them. "Damn them, and damn you, saiyan!" Dr. Gero hissed, having one of his spy bugs above the door follow them. The extent of the damage wasn't bad, aside from allowing the enemy inside.

Vegetto let out a growl of his own and began pacing. "How much time until your android is completed, and what makes you think it stands any better a chance of survival than I would?" he demanded.

Dr. Gero didn't answer right away, typing into the keyboard before the monitors. A string of words ran along the bottom of one monitor. "... Six hours, eight minutes, and eighteen seconds at the earliest, weakest state." Gero read slowly. "If he is awakened at that point his estimated strength will drop 50%." he turned to Vegetto just as another explosion reached their ears.

* * *

Kami blew the smoke raised away and his eyes widened a fraction of an inch. The metal wall before him was completely unfazed by his masenko. Which left him with only one other technique to use. He slowly raised two fingers to his forehead, pushing strength and ki into it, then with a shout of "Special Beam Cannon!" brought them down.

The spiraling beam drilled into the center of the wall and for a moment seemed to be doing something, hissing and raising steam, but in the end wasn't able to penetrait beyond an eighth of an inch into the osmium, thought he place of contact glowed bright red.

With a snarl Kami threw his hand to the side, and as he did so, the beam traveled along the surface and into the lower corner left corner. Steam arose as a section melted off the edge. Katas frowned from behind his brother. "This is taking too long."

"So, it is." Kami responded, drawing on another Masenko as he threw himself at the edge of the wall. The wall rocked on impact and explosion, and the actual rock beside it gave out, cracking and melting away. Pieces of the osmium wall dripped to the floor as well. "Looks like this works just fine..." the mutated namekian growled.

His stamina from the days efforts was running out. Even if his strength was so high, his body couldn't keep up with it. He turned to Katas and began walking back towards the entry. "Where are you going?" Katas demanded. "My body needs rest, brother. Would you care to try and stop me?" the mutated namekian growled back.

Katas eyes narrowed as he considered it, before shaking his head no. "Then get out of the way."

* * *

A brief time later the two landed on the lookout and entered Piccolos room. Kami bowed to his master. "Forgive me, Demon Lord, but I have not completed my mission." he said in a low raspy tone. "I know. And now I know where my enemies lurk." Piccolo responded seriously.

"You have a flaw in your very creation. Perhaps the original Drum had it as well, but I doubt it. Something went wrong with your birth. You have all the power and no energy to wield it, like a broken user of the kaioken." standing up, Piccolo approached Kami and behind him Katas, pressing a hand to the mutated namekians back.

"Return to your essence, my son." with a flare of power and a flash of light, Kamis body was gone. Katas stared in mild shock at the blood dripping from his mid-section and his eyes roamed downward further as the pain began to set in.

"You are beyond saving, Katas. But you did your duty _well_." Piccolo stated in a colder tone. "Too bad your entire existence no longer has a meaning." turning his back on the other, Piccolo sat back down in his throne, and began focusing his efforts on creating a new son without the same flaws.

Katas died only a few moments later, silently begging why this had happened. Everything from his chest down was torn open and the bones ripped free, thick purple blood oozing out as the organs hung down towards the floor. His skull would shortly join the rest of his bones on the throne Piccolo sat on.

* * *

The creature hanging in the Pendulum Room counted off the minutes until its escape. It knew exactly when it needed to hatch, precisely the moment when to gather itself and take its chance. Because even now, his very existence was hanging in the balance, and the threat did not come from Piccolo.

* * *

It took him some hours to figure out what was wrong and how to correct it. Piccolo narrowed his eyes and concentrated, and the first of two eggs slid up his throat and into his mouth, falling to the floor and cracking open. Only moments later a second egg likewise appeared.

Piccolo panted after wards, strength down somewhat, a certain degree of weariness setting in. "Arise, my sons Kami and Nail." he growled. This kami looked almost identical to the first, his eyes a dark red however. Beside him a mutated namekian that was his complete opposite pushed to his feet. Short, thin limbed, minuscule fangs, dark blue eyes and skin.

"You know what to do, Kami." Piccolo ordered. Shaking some of the white slime off his body, Kami likewise stood up and approached Nail, who had bowed to the Demon Lord. With a kick that pushed the other up against the wall, Kami pressed one hand to Nails chest and initiated the Yugo fusion technique.

A blinding light arose around them, and when it faded, the new figure was a perfect balance between the two previous. He had all the strenghs and none of the weaknesses. "Go forth and slaughter the saiyan, Kami." "As you bid, milord of the demons, Piccolo Daimou." The voice was deeper without the rasp, stronger. "Kaioken." he stated, and the red aura burned into existence around him.

"They will die."

* * *

At last the computer began speaking. "Project Super 13 has been completed. Starting up now..." it spoke. Dr. Gero paced before the capsule, wondering if the readings would be correct.

After nearly a minute the capsule lid cracked open with the hiss of steam being released, and slid to the floor. The powerful figure with, a blue skinned, orange haired, silver armored machine sat up and his head swiveled in Vegettos direction. He locked eyes on the fused saiyan and pushed up to his feet, sliding out of the capsule into a fluid stance.

"Saiyan identified. Termination delayed. Primary targets of demon, namekian origins must be eliminated." he commanded in a powerful, grating voice. His head swiveled in the direction of the osmium doors as his readings detected a strange power level, similar yet different from the known demon or namekian sources.

Dr. Gero watched with eager eyes as his android was activated.

"Super 13, what is your power level?" Dr. Gero asked. Super android 13 turned to his creator as the calculation program began running, estimating him to be at a fraction of his potential. It would take him a few minutes to generate enough power to match the on-coming enemy. Before he could say any of this however, several rapid explosions occurred and barely seconds later the wall to the side of the last osmium door collapsed, revealing the new form of Kami.

"Demon located. Primary target #3 acquired. Assistance needed in termination." he stated aloud. Dr. Gero looked back and forth for a moment, then slid back into the shadows to get out of the way as energy grew around the machine and exploded forth in a massive wave.

Vegetto, likewise side-stepping the attack, could feel the power flowing from the mutated namekian. "Kaioken times four!" he muttered, increasing his strength sharply. The wave slammed into the osmium wall and blew it off its hinges towards the other walls, catching Kami in the size of the wave and throwing him backwards, effectively trapping him in between the on-coming wall and the one at his back.

"One namekian sandwich on the way." Vegetto muttered. To his surprise an explosion occurred that shook the entire mountain, vaporizing the wall. From within the smoke this brought up, Kamis mocking laughter could be heard. "_Namekian sandwich_? A nice try, but your pun falls short on demand. Sliced saiyan salad, on the other hand..." several saw blade disks shot from the smoke.

Vegetto barely had time to see the first glints of yellow before one was on him. "Nngh!" throwing himself back it still sliced open his cheek and cut into his jaw bone. A mix of blood and marrow dripped out of the wound as Vegetto howled in pain, the next saw blade disk cutting into one thigh and shearing it in half in a shower of blood that stained the monitors. The only thing keeping the leg still attached to his body was the small amount of flesh that survived.

The third disk caught him as he attempted to twist out of the way, slicing his tail off. The fourth and fifth barely missed, and the sixth would have decapitated him if it wasn't blown off course by another Super Explosive Wave from Super 13.

Vegettos mind was reeling from all the pain. His brain just couldn't process it all. He barely remained conscious as the battle raged around him between machine and namekian.

* * *

  
The creature in the Pendulum Room could feel the battle going on below. It slid across the ceiling sluggishly and descended down the wall, coming to a stop behind some pots. The organic-shell around it pulsed with a strange energy, and the creature within began to grow more excited as it ticked off the time left, unable to contain its excitement.

'Soon. The Demon King will be distracted soon. The android will lead the spawn away soon. The saiyan will die soon. The creator will hide soon.'

* * *

Narrator: What a time to end! What is this creature? Will Super 13 be able to combat the newly fused Kami? Will Vegetto truly die??! Read on for a preview!

Super 13 powered up to 30% finally, catching the fist aimed at his head and crushing the hand in his unforgiving grip. A glowing red barrier burst to life around his body and burned away Kamis hand, down to the middle arm.

The mutated namekian hissed and drew his limb away, and with a low _sknit_ a replacement shot downward. The two seemed to be equally matched.

Vegetto: 1(Hidden). Piccolo/Demon King: 135'000'000(Base). Kami(Demon): 40'000'000, Katas(Ginyu body): Dead. Nail: 11'000. Frieza: Dead. Dr. Gero: 200'000. Ginyu: Dead. Tien: Dead. Krillin: Dead. Super 13: 5'000'000(inactive), 30'000'000(start-up). Yamcha: Dead. Mystery: 1(Hidden).


	19. Chapter 19

Super 13 stood behind Vegetto, who was writhing in pain on the ground, one arm pointing ahead with the other by his side. "You're a strange one." Kami commented, staring at Super 13 with a hint of curiosity. "I can't feel your strength." he added. "But it doesn't matte to me. Even if you're raising your power level only in the instant you attack, then dropping it back to zero, you still can't catch me so easily." he stated.

Super 13 waited for the demon to finish speaking, then shot forward with a burst of intense speed, stopping an inch from Kamis nose. "You do not understand the power difference." the android stated monotonously, finally powering up to 30%. Kamis eyes narrowed as he brought one hand up and slammed it into the blue skinned enemies skull.

Or tried to. His fingers was grasped in Super 13s left hand, and quickly being crushed. A flare of red energy engulfing the hand and burned it away to ash, down to the elbow, and in the moment of distraction he skull-bashed Kami, forcing the demons eyes to bug out in pain. With his right hand the machine reached up and tore them out, earning a howl of agony, as well as a wild punch that was double his previously strength, a movement of instinct.

Super 13s left cheek was tore off, revealing the metal beneath and around the wound, as well as the wires therein, but he made no noise of pain. As the enemy continue to growl in pain a low _sknit _could be heard as his arm regenerated, and he quickly began firing off ki bursts all around him.

One blew up the wall of monitors, the other catching Vegetto on the side and burning his damaged leg off, while also cauterizing the wound. Skin was blackened along that side of his body as well, charring off the first layer of flesh. The saiyan groaned before fading into unconsciousness entirely, his brain shutting down.

Super 13 silently raised his android barrier as several bursts shot at his form, but two still managed to slip inside and drive through his body. The damage wasn't as great as it could have been as the gap between the two fighters began closing again.

"Where.. the hell... did you run.. too, vermin!?" Kami howled, his rage keeping a firm hold of him. Without a word, Super 13 raised both hands and began gathering ki to them. Unfortunately Kami sensed it and threw himself forward. He smashed into the barrier and was thrown backwards.

"S.S. Deadly Bomber." the machine commanded, dropping his barrier and shooting the red orb spiraling at Kamis body. The mutated namekian felt the heat from it an instant before it crashed into his lower body, obliterating it in an explosion that burned away twenty feet of rock wherever it touched. The remnants of the upper half dropped to ground with a splat, purple blood oozing out of his torso where the severed spine was broken in two places.

Panting in even greater pain now, Kami was able to focus his rage into his regeneration, and with a sknit, covered in white slime and purple blood, everything from the stomach and down burst forth, repaired. He rolled over to his knees and silently raised his power with the two fold Kaioken. The red aura was burning strongly around his body now.

'Barrier? Negative. No protection properti--' Super 13s analyzation of the aura was cut short by another wave of power, and even his hastily raised android barrier could not hold up against it. Several pieces of his body ceased functioning, including all of his left leg and his right up to the knee, and from his left elbow and down. Sparks flared from the missing sections.

'Damage at 40%.' he thought with a frown. "Even if I can't see or sense where you are, scum, I'll destroy everything around me until I hit you." Kami swore in a rasping voice.

Even with the damage sustained, however... the benefits of being a machine were still able to provide him the upper hand. He began diverting power from its futile flow to missing limbs instead into his right hand, the muscles there bulging outward largely as he channeled his still raising strength into it instead of equally through his body now.

Floating forward, he caught the next barrage of ki aimed in his direction and countered with another Super Explosive Wave. With both attacks coming at him Kami was caught unawares and engulfed. And yet... even after the wave washed over his form, his skin was only slightly singed.

* * *

Dr. Gero, now having slipped into a compartment in the shadows that led to another room a brief distance away, now watched the battle through a handful of spy bugs that had escaped the damage the room was sustaining. The capsules housing Androids 16, 17, and 18 were already being depleted of energy.

If they awoke... "Super 13s' program will continue raising his strength towards 100% from the moment of his activation. But how far will he go before hitting his weakened mark? Once more that damn saiyan may have ensured the demons survival and victory over us all!" he growled lowly, using the power reading capabilities of the spy bugs to determine the answer for himself.

It wasn't good. Super 13 had just risen above the demon when said demons power jumped even higher.

* * *

Super 13 was slammed backwards into a series of capsules lining the wall behind him. One cracked open, releasing steam into the room with a sharp hiss. Kami continued forward, drawing his fist back and slamming it into the wall where Super 13s head had just been.

The machine attempted another skull-bash, but he was caught by the remaining arm and slammed into the floor, where Kami planted a foot on his throat and began pushing down.

He did not notice the figure rising from the capsule behind him until the lid was sent careening past his own head and embedded it self halfway into the wall. "You do not belong here. Leave." a deeper tone the Super 13s warned with little emotion to it.

Kamis head twisted in the direction of the voice and he fired off another wave of ki at it. He felt the move hit and be pushed back, then turned back towards Super 13 who had just taken his ankle into the remaining hands grip, squeezing.

"You do not belong here. Leave." the deeper tone warned again, still obscured by smoke. Super 13 did not recognize the tone, though in some degree he recognized it as a machines, a brother. And right now he needed the help. His power had hit its wall.

Kami laughed at the tones insolence and dropped down, driving one knee into and through Super 13s chest, then grabbed him by the throat and yanked upwards. Half his upper body was torn free from the other half with a grating screech of metal severing.

Finally, Kami realized why his enemy had made no noise and could not be sensed. "You're... a machine??!" he demanded in further anger, then sent out another barrage of ki bursts around his body to ensure the second machine, most likely, was kept away.

"You have been warned." the deeper tone stated grimly as the sounds of foot steps reaching Kamis ears, just before a solid grip took a hold of itself by his antenna and drew it back with a snap, breaking his neck. Kamis hand automatically went slack and he dropped Super 13s' remains to the ground.

Still holding Kami by the antenna, the other android dragged him towards the osmium doors and kicked the next remaining one down in a series of strikes across its surface.

* * *

Dr. Gero stepped out into the former laboratory once the two had vanished out the entry way. He sent two spy bugs after them and investigated what remained intact. It sickened him to see the capsules for Android 17 and Android 18 partially destroyed, their bodies obviously ruined.

A low moan of pain caught his attention and he turned towards it. Vegetto, most of the flesh on his left side burned away revealing the muscles and bone beneath, which in turn blended together with how charred black they had become, lay in a pool of dried blood.

A numbness had settled over his form in some places, but the burning agony of pain still made itself well aware to him in many others. Dr. Gero approached him with his hands clenched at his side, and kicked the saiyan over onto his back. Another groan of pain escaped him.

"..." the partial-android considered something he never would have before. The enemy before him was at his weakest, and dying. With what remained, it would be possible to repair the damage by converting him into a cyborg in the same manner as he had 17 and 18.

The power he would hold over the others life would be very helpful... but would it be worth it?

* * *

Android 16 continued dragging Kami by the antenna out into the open air, then slammed him into the ground and released his grip. He approached one of the downed osmium doors and hefted it into the air with one hand, walking back towards Kami.

"Enemies of Dr. Gero will be terminated." he stated in a grim voice, slamming the door down over the mutated namekians body. A number of cracks could be heard from beneath it as both the ground and many other bones gave out.

Android 16 lifted the door back up and threw it aside, reaching down to pick Kami up by the neck. "Enemies of Dr. Gero will be terminated." he repeated, still feeling a faint ki in the other figure. Squeezing down he crushed the windpipe, then tore the head itself off of the weakened neck, blood spurting out across his face in the process.

"Enemy identified as namekian origin. Termination..." he paused, taking the head in between both hands, and crushing the skull inward. He let go with one hand to crush it in the other direction, crunching the bone down until it was little more than the size of a tennis ball. The blood and brain matter coating his hands, wrists, and face were ignored as he dropped the remains of the skull to the ground and rose into the air, placing his wrists beneath his underarms and, with a click, detaching the hands there and revealing a pair of cannons.

He took aim at the mutated namekians remains and shot two quick bursts of energy down, igniting an explosion that erases half of the nearby mountains surrounding him, not to mention triggering a low scale earthquake from the extensive damage.

Once it had settled down, the machine dropped to the remains of the ground with a look of disappointment on his face. "... Completed." he finished his earlier statement.

* * *

Dr. Gero dragged Vegettos form with him back into the smaller room, ignoring the saiyans groans of pain, and dropped him into one of two capsules there. With a click of a button on the side, the lid slid down into place and the cryogenic stasis he used to store all projects began taking place within.

The idea to convert his greatest enemy into a resource to combat the demon was very appeasing. A simple bomb in his body that would be detonated after wards would ensure the saiyans demise as well.

But it would take him time to prepare everything, and time was not on the saiyans side. So for now, he would become an icicle. Later, a machine.

* * *

In the pendulum room, the creatures organic shell began pulsating at a stronger rate, and finally cracked around the edge, peeling back with a sound like silk tearing. A white slime oozed out as a dark green skinned thing emerged, black-purple spots scattered across its form in numerous places. In some ways it resembled a humanoid cicada.

'Now. Now. Now. _Now_.' Slowly pushing up to its hands and knees, then up to one foot, and finally both, the creature opened its light-purple eyes and stared around itself. 'Now. The Demon Kings sorrow at his child's demise. The androids activation distracting the creator. The saiyan harmless.' locking his energy signature onto that of Dr. Geros remaining on, the creature vanished. Perfection would be within its grasp.

* * *

Narrator: The creature.. is Cell!? Will Vegetto truly become a cyborg/android? What is going on here!!?

Cell caught Piccolos hand in his own. "You were never a match for Perfection. I'm disgusted to even have your cells in my body. Big-bang Ka... me.. ha.. me..." Piccolo tore his hand away, eyes widening as the tall creature before him vanished from sight, reappearing directly above his head. "Ha." Cell stated softly, something akin to a maniacal grin on his face as he locked his hands together at the base of each palm and the spiraling beam of energy raced forward.

Power levels:

Vegetto: 1(Hidden), 6'000'000(Weakened base). Piccolo/Demon King: 135'000'000(Base). Kami(Demon): 40'000'000(Base), 80'000'000(Kaioken), 120'000'000(Kaioken x2), 160'000'000(x3), 200'000'000(x4), Dead. Dr. Gero: 200'000. Ginyu: Dead. Tien: Dead. Krillin: Dead. Yamcha: Dead. Super 13: 5'000'000(inactive), 30'000'000(start-up), 60'000'000(30%), 90'000'000(60%), 120'000'000(90%), 130'000'000(100%) Android 16: 400'000'000. Cell: 1(Hidden).


	20. Chapter 20

Within the lookout, Piccolos eyes widened in shock as he felt his heart pause briefly and his stomach lurch forward, spewing a mouthful of blood across the floor in front of him. A link he had not been aware of had been severed, and it had done so while flared to the maximum. Wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand, Piccolo stared at the blood before him and demanded "W... what in hell?"

He mentally traced the link that had been severed towards its source, and after several moments, discovered it had been a connection to Kamis lifeforce, a feed back of sorts. He saw last memory through Kamis eyes as a massive door crushed him. After the brief and initial shock wore off, he found himself feeling... sickened, some degree of sorrow running through him at his sons demise. "It.. is impossible. Vegetto lacks the strength to do this!" he growled, pushing up to his feet and shooting ahead towards the outside.

Once there he stood on the edge of the lookout and for the first time, scanned the world below him. It would take him some, both in feeling out the others powerlevel, and locating the place where Kami had died.

* * *

Cell reappeared at his creators side. "Dr. Gero." he stated in a humble tone, lowering himself into a bow with one arm extended out to the side, eyes closing. The partial android spun around at the unrecognized tone, unable to surmise how the voice had entered without alerting him to its presence. As if on cue, the remaining lights dimmed to red as the computer announced "Warning, Namekian DNA has arrived!"

Whatever that message created in Dr. Geros mind, the creature before him hardly met it. It looked nothing like the other children of the demon did.

Cell stood back up and glanced at the lights. In a perfect mimic of Geros voice he stated "Priority Over-ride initiated, Authorization code: 351212." within moments the lights returned to normal the computer began to shut down, all projects currently online being deactivated. "I have awaited this meeting for a long time, Dr. Gero. I will not have it disturbed by a machine." Cell added in his own voice.

Dr. Gero felt both anger and fear flood through him. Before he could say or do anything, however, a shadow fell over the two of them and a hand wrapped it self around Cells throat. Cells eyes widened as he realized his miscalculation and was thrown backwards and through the wall, crashing into the chamber housing the left overs of #17 and #18. Android 16 was revealed.

"Those baring Namekian DNA will be eradicated." he stated in a serious, saddened tone. "Retreat, Dr. Gero." he added. The partial-man could only stare in silent questioning as to the strength of the machine. 'Would Super 13 have been this powerful at his full potential?' he wondered.

* * *

Cell pushed himself up out of the rubble, uncovering an unconscious human in the process. He didn't bother wondering who the aged human was and instead focused on the fist now rocketing across the room at nearly a hundred miles an hour. Teleporting out of the way, Cell focused his ki into the palm of each hand. "Big Bang... Kame.. ha.. me.." he was forced to teleport again out of the way of the second fist, appearing before the two androids he was soon going to merge with. "Hah!!" Cell shouted, the different colored energy spheres around his hands being slammed together as he locked his palms base to base.

The familiar beam of the kamehameha with spiraling fire around it crashed into the waiting form of Android 16, burning away pieces of his metallic clothing and skin. #16 thrust one arm out and knocked the beam off course and out through the tunnel. "Enemies of Dr. Gero will be terminated." he stated in a soft monotonic voice, his pieces of his voice box damaged.

"I am not an enemy, foolish _machine_!" Cell called across to it, teleporting behind just as an explosion occurred from outside that shook the mountain even further. #16 turned around and twisted, kicking Cell across the jaw just after he reappeared and pressing the muzzle of one cannon against his neck. "You are..." he began, then noticed where he was standing and summoned one of his fists from across the room.

t arrived and clicked into place. Cell spat a mouthful of his black blood across the floor and teleported again. #16 followed the energy trail it left and aimed. A single burst of firery energy shot forward and caught Cell when he reappeared at the tunnel entrance. "_Wha_--?!!" the explosive wave erased all of the mountain in that direction and carried on for half a mile.

"Terminated." #16 said, finishing his previous statement.

* * *

Overhead, Piccolo caught the first detonation of the Big Bang Kamehameha out of the corner of his eye and quickly walked around the side of the lookout towards it. Only a few moments later and an explosion that wiped away a mountain range erupted from the same spot. "I have you, _saiyan_, and I will make you regret ever taking up a challenge against me!!" He swore, dropping down over the edge and rocketing forward.

* * *

#16 lowered his cannon and summoned the other hand to him, locking it in place. He began to turn towards Dr. Geros room when his sensors picked up an impossible reading. With a sickening, oozing pop, the remains of Cells minuscule core regenerated enough to form his tail attached to a heart. And it had formed these over the left overs to #17 and #18.

Android 16 watched in disbelief as the tail enlarged rapidly and descended upon the remnants, sucking in #17s and dragging them into the rapidly regenerating chest cavity, already covered in a thin layer of flesh. As the parts were digested within the now formed stomach, a flare of light occurred, blinding #16 and unbeknown to him, speeding up the regeneration as the body mutated to accept the new pieces.

Cells power sky rocketed upwards. Only seconds after it had appeared, the light faded away to reveal the enhanced, Semiperfect form of Cell. He was taller than Android 16 was, slightly wider and more muscular. Deep purple replaced the lighter green areas of his skin, from the elbow to the wrist, the knees to the torso, and on the sides of his neck. Even the remaining green had darkened significantly.

He let out a low sigh of pleasure. "Aah... partial perfection." he opened his closed eyes and turned his head to face #16. "Be gone, machine. You are un-needed. Obsolete. The perfect fighter born of Dr. Geros years of work has appeared to replace you." Cell stated smugly.

Android 16 raised one fist again, unsure how this creature had survived the destructive blast, or why it was able to grow so much more powerful with a few pieces of scrap metal, but he wasn't about to let it try again. Surely his power-reading sensors had been damaged?

Cell vanished and reappeared to his side. "Hah!" he declared, using an invisible kiai to throw the machine forward and out into the open, but a hand on his shoulder prevented Cell from following this up. "You... are Cell?" Dr. Gero questioned warily. "At last you listen." Cell stated with a slightly annoyed tone, thrusting a hand at #16s body and vaporizing it in a ki blast less than four times smaller then the wave the machine had unleashed before. It carried on into the sky overhead and exploded, stretching off into space and leaving a gaping hole in the ozone layer above.

"How is this possible?" Dr. Gero demanded. "... your answer can wait. The demon is nearly here." teleporting upward into the sky, Semiperfect Cell reappeared directly before Piccolo.

* * *

He had nearly been at the location when a ki shot forward at what felt like mach 1 to Piccolo. The sheer speed to it nearly overwhelmed him before he could shout out "_Kaioken times five_!" and even then, it still engulfed his body. His regeneration kept his melting off skin returning faster than it could be erased, but the explosion was more powerful than anything he had ever experienced before.

He vaguely questioned if somehow Vegetto had managed to slip back into the room of spirit and time, but that idea was thrown away as a massive green and purple skinned _thing_ appeared before him. It didn't say a word, simply reaching up to catch him around the throat and vanishing them both. They reappeared on the lookout, where the creature released him and was gone just as easily at it had appeared. "... _What in the __**hell **__just happened to me_!??" Piccolo shouted in unrestrained fury, once more soaring down upon the earth with even more murderous intent than before.

* * *

Cell reappeared before the remains of #18 and once more extended his tail, drawing them in. Just before they vanished into his system, he said "You should leave." to Dr. Gero. The partial-man never had a chance to move as the white light from before appeared and rushed up to meet him, burning the ground beneath it away, and on some degree Dr. Gero realized it was a vastly improved Android Barrier as his lower body was engulfed, and still it rose up to meet him until it had vaporized even his hat.

Only slightly longer than before, the barrier faded and a taller, sleeker being remained. The top of his head was covered by a protective black-purple dome of shell. His shoulders and upper chest were armored in the same.. His elbows and kneecaps had similar shell on them. The green was almost metallic like now and replaced most of the deep purple. Only his hands, the front of his face, and even less of his neck was left, now a pale white-purple in appearance. From his back black-purple wings sprouted.

"This..._ this is true perfection_." Cell panted, almost shuddering in pleasure from all the power, the strength and speed he now possessed. He flicked his eyes upwards where a persistent green skinned enemy was approaching rapidly, and a malicious gleam entered his eyes. He didn't even need to teleport like he was. He simply shot skyward and appeared before his foe, for the second time catching Piccolo off-guard.

However, Piccolo wasted no time, throwing his right fist forward with a growl. Cell leaned his head to the side. Piccolos eyes narrowed dangerously and he began throwing both hands forward at blurring speeds. Cell weaved in and out of each blow, an arrogant smile playing across his lips. When at last Piccolo made contact, his hand passed right through the afterimage left behind.

"Henh heh." Cell snickered mockingly from behind Piccolo. 'What is this speed?!' the namekian thought.

"Throw your best at me, _Demon King Piccolo_," Cell stated the title with sarcasm, "attack me with everything you have." he added. Another flare of rage burned into him at being mocked. "Then you will _die_! Hellzone Grenade!" he growled out, throwing out dozen after dozen of white ki orbs around them, until the sky was literally clouded with the explosive attack.

Cell counted close to a hundred in total. "One hundred grenades??" he asked in a tone of fear. Piccolo didn't answer as he clenched his hands tightly into fists and shot down at the earth below, rushing through the dangerously close spheres rocketing by his form. "NOOOOOoooooo---" Cells scream was cut off by the explosion.

Even with all his speed behind him, Piccolo was caught in the range of destruction, losing his legs in the process, but the fallout ended at that point. The sky was obscured with thick white smoke, and Piccolo could no longer sense the enemy figures presence.

Panting slightly, Piccolo concentrated and with a low sknit, both legs pushed down from his bloody torso, covered in white slime. "You really should get that checked out. I've heard the disease can spread rapidly." a voice that should not have been possible to be heard, spoke from behind Piccolo again.

"Did you even feel for my power? I outclass you at _every level_." Cell stated, completely unharmed, his power level concealed. A pang of fear ran through Piccolos body, but he suppressed it and with a snarl pushed all his energy into the next punch, a roar of "Kaioken times six!!" escaping him.

Cell instantaneously amped his power to full and caught the blow in his own hand. "You were never a match for Perfection. I'm disgusted to even have your cells in my body." he stated, shaking his head. Piccolo snarled again as he attempted to draw his hand back.

Cell slowly lowered his power level down towards Piccolos until he was just above it. "Come now, we are of even strength, can't you even break free now?" he asked in a mocking tone. A low growl erupted from deep within Piccolos throat as he threw himself backwards and tore his hand free... or at least the wrist. The hand was still held within Cells own, purple blood oozing out of both halves. Once more shaking his head, Cell used an invisible Kiai to knock Piccolo off his feet.

Before the namekian could even try to adjust himself another hit, and another, and within moments he was being bombarded with Kiais from every direction, pummeling his flesh in and tearing his skin apart. The final Kiai drove his battered form down into the soil a hundred feet down, leaving a crater behind.

Cell shot downward and stood above Piccolo. "Hmph. Figures. Lemme give you a hand." he stated, leaning down and thrusting forward with the namekians hand still clasping in his own- with the fingers now pointing at Piccolo-, essentially driving it into and through the others chest and into chest, the tips of his fingernails pressing against the heart.

Piccolo gasped and coughed up another mouthful of blood, cracking one eye open in complete disbelief. 'Where has this monstrosity come from??' he thought slowly. "Enough fun and games. Your existence is _over_. Big-bang Ka... me.. ha.. me..." each hand grew a sphere of ki in it, and Cell locked his hands palm-base to palm-base together, sliding his feet into the familiar stance.

With almost no energy left in him, Piccolo forced himself to his feet and prepared whatever last assault he could, but the enemy vanished before his eyes and reappeared above his head. "Ha." Cell commanded with a tone of malicious amusement, the spiraling beam descending on Piccolo, who could only stare at his demise in a hint of fear before it was awash over him.

Releasing his control over the beam, Cell teleported away from the soon-to-be-crater drilling straight down towards the center of the earth. He reappeared at the doorway of the Pendulum room and quickly set to work on his second agenda. Namely... a more personal destruction of the saiyan Vegetto. He barely vanished from this timeline even further into the past before the planets core was breached and vaporized, ensuring the destruction of the planet.

* * *

Narrator: A Perfect Cell has done what no other figure was capable of, and destroyed the Demon King! But he also ensured Earths demise in the process! But is the story of the future completed? **No**! What would have happened without Cells timely arrival and interference?? What would have occurred had he not split the timeline in twain? There is no preview this week.

Power levels:

Altered-timeline

Vegetto: Dead. Piccolo/Demon King: 135'000'000(Base), 675'000'000(Kaioken x5), Dead. Kami(Demon): Dead. Dr. Gero: Dead. Ginyu: Dead. Tien: Dead. Krillin: Dead. Yamcha: Dead. Super 13: 4'000'000(Leftovers), Dead. Android 16: 400'000'000, Dead. Cell: 1(Hidden), 380'000'000(Inperfect), 500'000'000(Semiperfect), 900'000'000(Perfect).


	21. Chapter 21

Piccolo descended from the Lookout with a wrath burning in his heart unlike any other. His power was already flared to the maximum with Kaioken, allowing his speed to increase six times over as well. Only a couple of miles separated him from the smoking crater where he was positive Kami had been slain.

Vengeance would be dealt, and more. He would ensure every living being on this planet suffered for his sons death! He could barely feel a weak ki below before it dropped off his radar, allowing another that was attempting to conceal itself to appear to him. Baring his fangs in an expression that would soon haunt the people of earth, Piccolo adjusted his flight and rocketed inside the tunnel.

* * *

Android 16 was already alerted to his presence and waiting. A twin flare of ki bursts erupted from the cannons in his arms and engulfed the Namekian, blowing the mountain top above him away in an explosion that reached a mile and a half across the landscape before him.

Three layers of Piccolos skin was singed off, purple blood dripping down and burning away from the intensity of the heat, but before anything worse could be done the Namekian pushed through and caught the machine around the throat with his left hand. Continuing forward, snarling, Piccolo used the android like a battering ram to smash through several meters of rock, leaving behind a gaping hole around them. His skin began regenerating what was damaged.

Satisfied when his opponent stopped moving, and he was unable to sense any ki coming from him, Piccolo stepped back and turned around inn the direction of the other he had sensed before. It was a poor decision and a costly one as he began walking back out of the hole. As soon as the enemy had turned around, Android 16s' eyes slowly opened and he finished the report of damage registered by his sensors.

One arm raised itself and called the matching fist back towards him, while the other took aim at the back of Piccolos skull and shot yet another burst. Piccolo paused for a split second as he saw a fist flying towards his chest from outside of the hole, then felt the energy nearly on him.

A growl tore itself from Piccolos lips as he threw one hand back and the other forward, both succeeding in catching the ki burst and the fist, which he attempted to crush to no avail. A look of disbelief registered on his face at that and it was then that his mind recognized the bow-tie symbol etched onto the clothing of his enemy. 'The Red-ribbon army! Damn you, Dr. Gero!' he growled mentally as his hand began burning, flesh blackening to a crisp.

His realization was confirmed when he heard the crunch of metal pulling free of stone. Eyes narrowing even further, Piccolo swung the hand before him around and into the wall, embedding it there for a moment. Now able to use both hands and with no obstacle in front of him, the namekian shot forward and twisted around, kicking the burst right back at his enemy.

Android 16 raised his arm and with a humming sound sucked the burst back into the cannon, before raising both arms together and firing off another pair. Piccolo growled and shot to the side, avoiding them, then raised his hands over his head and yelled "Masenko-ha!!" the sphere of ki grew to life in the palm of his left hand.

Android 16 adjusted his aim but was ill-prepared for the speed his opponent had in an open environment. He moved so fast two afterimages were left behind, two fake-targets that drew his attention just as they were supposed to. And then the real Piccolo was above him and the sphere was crashing down through his forehead to his waist.

The machine slumped to the ground in two halves, rendering incapable of retaliating directly. Panting, and regenerating his damaged skin, Piccolo began gathering the power to finish his enemy off entirely. He never expected a low flash of yellow light to erupt from the androids twain chest pieces just before the explosion that engulfed him and the rest of the area three miles around.

* * *

From some distance away, Dr. Gero had barely escaped under ground before Piccolo arrived. It was hardly a few minutes later when he felt the two eruptions, the first being the mountain top of his laboratory being erased, and then the rest of the landscape around it for miles. Thankfully, they were above ground level. If the bomb had gone in a full 360 degree radius, than Cells underground area would have been decimated as well.

A low level earthquake was activated thanks to the destruction unleashed by the bombs detonation, but the thin, cramped security tunnels Dr. Gero had drilled through well beneath the surface above remained in good condition and survived with minimal damage. For now he would take refuge in his old base of operations, long ago abandoned. He was returning to the Red Ribbon compound far away.

* * *

Piccolos skull and vertebrae collapsed to the ground, only the smallest layer of flesh still in tact, a long eyeball, now permanently turned red, looking around at the sky above. Some how his brain had survived. The rest of his body had been vaporized by the bomb.

It took him twenty minutes before skin had regrown around his face and head, though it was a sickly looking pale green from blood loss. From there it was close to an hour before his chest cavity and shoulders were regenerated, almost oozing along compared to the usual _snkit_ of instant regeneration.

At last, six hours after his near-fatal encounter, Piccolos body was whole again, though extremely weakened. Never before had a namekian regenerated from practically nothing. His blood was so thin from replication, bones aching deep down, muscles barely intact now, that Piccolo had to strain to push up to his feet. He felt a hundred years older, and knew that his power level had plummeted down into the low thousands right now.

If any other creation of Dr. Geros activated right now, the namekian knew he would die fighting it. He had to return to the Lookout to recover. Slowly he ascended into the air, allowing his body to relax, even though his face was twisted into an expression of loathing; loathing of himself, for being this weak; loathing of the machine he had just fought, and nearly lost to; and loathing of the saiyan that had led him into this trap, Vegetto!

* * *

**Three Months have passed  
**  
Vegettos eyes opened again. He did not expect that. The last thing he remembered was a lot of pain. More pain than he could comprehend. But the pain was no longer there, no longer around him. Instead he just felt... power. He was far stronger than he had been before. "So you awaken." The cool voice of Dr. Gero intoned, stepping forward from the shadows and into the dim light over his enemy.

Vegetto hadn't sensed his presence, at all. He lowered his hands to the cold platform beneath him and pushed up to sit. It was only after a few moments that he realized he had just used _both_ hands. His eyes slowly lowered themselves and took in the sight of the pasty flesh there.

"What did you do to me?" he questioned, turning his head to Dr. Gero. "... I made you better, saiyan. Now follow me!" Dr. Gero responded in an even tone, though his eyes were alight with anger. Vegetto frowned and pushed off the platform onto both legs, hearing the clank of metal from one foot. He scowled and remembered that was the leg that had been practically sawed off by the enemy before he had collapsed.

"While you were sleeping, the demon you should have slain years ago has been recovering, and training! He has grown stronger than I would have ever imagined. Not even Android 16 was able to kill him, though he came close. I suspect only Cell will be capable of destroying the demon now." Dr. Gero explained.

"Why are you telling me this?" Vegetto asked. Dr. Gero stopped and turned to face him. "So you understand how badly you have harmed this world! Without you, the Red Ribbon army would be in control of earth! The demon would be sealed away still!" he snapped, anger coming to the fore front.

Vegetto bristled and stepped forward. "Do you think you are a match for me, saiyan?" Dr. Gero demanded. "I'm more than a match for you!" he responded, temper clouding his judgment again. He clenched his left hand into a fist and thrust forward, and to his surprise, found his fist caught in Dr. Geros right hand.

Squeezing down tightly until he heard the beginnings of a satisfying crack, Dr. Gero kicked out and caught the fused saiyan in the kidneys, causing his eyes to bulge out in pain. Another kick had him on his knees, hand still clasped in the former-mans own.

"Do not be so haste to strike out at a superior opponent." Dr. Gero stated with no emotion, feeling little joy or pleasure at bringing the enemy to his knees. Releasing his hand he dragged Vegetto forward by the hair and began marching down the hallway. "You have been rebuilt into a machine-saiyan fusion. Your body is unable to handle the use of Kaioken; it will begin falling apart at the strain, and you will bleed to death there-after." he began.

"I have also installed a series of bombs within your internal organs. Do not trifle with me or I will detonate them, ending your life. And this time I will not hesitate to let you die." he continued. "The only reason I repaired you in the first place was to aide me in the creation of a sub-perfect warrior, one to stall the demon until Cell will be completed." Dr. Gero paused in both speech and walking, before a small closed door.

"You will create a son, saiyan, and I will rebuild it into a warrior suited for this task." he finished, just as the door slid up into the ceiling and Vegetto was thrown inside. As soon as the saiyan passed inside, the door slid down again, and the walls on either side of it came together, sealing it shut with five feet of osmium.

Dr. Gero turned and walked away, retreating through another doorway to monitor the progress he was sure would soon begin. After all, it was only a matter of time before the air-borne drugs filtering in through the vents ensured the process was underway.

Vegetto found himself inside of a five by ten rectangular room. A single bed was resting against the far wall, with a human girl waiting there. She had slightly long bluish hair, wore a yellow and black outfit, and was currently muttering under her breath. Vegetto recognized her right away. "Bulma?!"

* * *

Narrator: How low can one man sink? Will Vegetto succumb, or find the strength of will to fight? And just what does Dr. Gero intend to do with their child, when or if he is born? Keep reading for the preview!

Trunks found himself alone, trapped. He was scared, that was to be expected, but out of the darkness surrounding him a dozen glowing lights suddenly appeared. The sound of a _clank, clank, clank_ echoed from the lights.

A jet of flame erupted all of a sudden, catching the toddler across one arm, and the heat and pain made him cry out. He rolled over on the ground, trying to get away, but the jet of flame followed him. It singed his toes, motivating him to push up and try crawling away faster.

Another jet appeared in front of him, and he cried out as it passed before his nose with an inch to spare. More flames appeared all around him, as the machines lumbering in the dark worked their way closer.

He could see the black metal, the skulls, the red ribbon insignia on their fore heads. Tears clouded his vision and pain burned its way into him, and all he wanted was to get away, to escape it all. A sudden wave of white energy shot out of his hands.

Power levels:

Original-timeline:

Piccolo/Demon King: 150'000'000(Base). Dr. Gero: 70'000'000(Full conversion+enhancements). Vegetto: 40'000'000(Cyborg, design flaws). Super 13: 12'000'000(Rebuilt, design flaw). Cell: 5'000(Baby). Yajirobe: 500. Other Z-Fighters: All dead. Androids 16-21: All destroyed.


	22. Chapter 22

**Two years three months later**  
One year three months later

Piccolos demons marched through the streets of West City. A faint power level far above these worthless humans had been sensed around here. But it was already hidden again by the time they had converged on the location. "Cowardly saiyan! Come out and face us!" Drum the second roared, his voice shattering glass for half a mile around.

His brother Cymbal shook his head. "The saiyan will never show himself." he stated in a flat tone. Like their deceased brothers, these mutated namekians were more like Piccolo than the original demons. Tall and lanky, their bodies belayed the strength of the compacted muscles. However thick horns jutted out of the back of each's skull instead of antenna hanging over the front, and though Cymbal retained the wings of the original they were more armor like than anything else and unable to lift him.

"The Demon King has wanted to eradicate this city for a while now. Perhaps we'll get lucky and destroy the saiyan in the process." he said to Drum. Drum growled lowly in his throat but agreed and soared into the sky. His brother shot upward without the use of his wings and began heading to the opposite end of the city.

"Your cowardice has doomed this city, saiyan! Hell Zone Grenade!" Cymbal shouted. From the other side he heard Drums more grating voice yell out the attack as well. Hundreds of white orbs erupted from their hands and began shooting down towards the humans below.

Shouts, cry's of panic and terror, and agonized groans ascended into the air as bodies were torn apart as each sphere smashed through them and then annihilated once the orb exploded.

When almost every last human ki was wiped out, Cymbal raised his hands over his head. "Masenko-ha!" he stated as the destructive energy grew into his left palm and, once it was as large as his head, the mutated namekian thrust the hand downward and released.

It spiraled down towards the ground, such a small attack, and detonated on contact with the ground the explosion grew and engulfed over two-thirds of the former city. Drum finished off the rest.

* * *

Far, far away the baby Trunks rested in his mothers arms. His father paced back and forth in agitation, looking disgusted with himself. "The future rests on his shoulders Bulma. He needs to be trained." Vegetto stated for the third time in as many minutes.

Bulma leveled a weary and angry look at him. "Isn't that what the so called _Cell_ is for?" she demanded, "To eradicate the _demon_ and bring peace to the world in time?"

Vegetto growled lowly to himself. "_It _won't be completed for nearly thirteen more years. The world could be destroyed before that!" he argued. She let out a resigned sigh as Dr. Gero himself entered the cramped bedroom. "You will give me the child I shall take him by force. Trust me when I say I have no interest in his happiness. He will be trained harshly until he can at the least defeat the sons of the demon!" the android stated in a cold tone.

Vegetto bristled but managed to keep his temper under control. Bulma clutched her son tighter as Dr. Gero approached and Vegetto did nothing to prevent him. The android grabbed the arm wrapped protectively around her son and pried it away then picked the baby up by the dark purple furry tail.

Immediately he awoke and began wailing in pain. Dr. Gero shook him slightly in annoyance and turned around the carry him off. Vegetto followed him out as the door to the room shut and locked behind them, leaving Bulma behind and alone.

Vegetto growled lowly to himself. "It won't be completed for nearly thirteen more years. The world could be destroyed before that!" he argued. She let out a resigned sigh as Dr. Gero himself entered the cramped bedroom. "You will give me the child I shall take him by force. Trust me when I say I have no interest in his happiness. He will be trained harshly until he can at the least defeat the sons of the demon!" the android stated in a cold tone.

Vegetto bristled but managed to keep his temper under control. Bulma clutched her son tighter as Dr. Gero approached and Vegetto did nothing to prevent him. The android grabbed the arm wrapped protectively around her son and pried it away then picked the baby up by the dark purple furry tail.

Immediately he awoke and began wailing in pain. Dr. Gero shook him slightly in annoyance and turned around the carry him off. Vegetto followed him out as the door to the room shut and locked behind them, leaving Bulma behind and alone.

A few minutes later and they stopped before a small computer and capsule. The android set the baby down on a table and picked up a syringe which was pressed into the base of the neck. "What is that?" the elder saiyan asked in a tone of forced neutrality.

"A simple adrenaline building drug. For any normal human it would kill them in minutes. But you saiyans... your bodies are savage creatures. They thrive on near-death experiences and blood-lust, fighting to kill and grow stronger from it. The potential sleeping in his form will be brought out far easier." Dr. Gero explained.

"The longer it circulates his blood stream the greater it builds up. Eventually he will snap and the true measure of his power will be released." once more picking the squirming, wailing baby up Dr. Gero approached the capsule and slid it open before placing him inside and locking it.

Within minutes the baby settled down and drifted into a forced and wholly unpleasant sleep, face twisting into a look of pain. "What is its name?" the android asked suddenly as he approached the keyboard set out before the computer. "... Trunks. Son Trunks." Vegetto responded. A few moments later and the name was typed in and registered to the computers data banks.

* * *

Weeks came and went as Trunks unconscious form, hooked up to a handful of tubes, was pumped full of various drugs that would have killed a full grown man instantly; as it was the demi saiyan was in a constant struggle to survive. The computer read his life energy and other more normal vital signs to confirm when to let up and when to push harder, insuring he was pushed to the brink of death and then drawn away from it.

His power level fluctuated consistently higher on each recovery, however. The news of West Citys destruction reached them eventually. Unable to leave the former Red Ribbon Armies base, Vegetto wondered silently why the demons had destroyed it under the guise of sensing him in hiding there.

No one, not even Dr. Gero himself with his many spy bugs, knew that a lone swords man was working his way steadily across the world on the orders of an old, powerful cat with a wooden staff. At least not until he dropped in on them on the morning after Trunks was finally let out to be tested.

* * *

Trunks found himself alone and trapped in a pitch-black room. His muscles were sore and cramped feeling, but he was more scared of being alone in here. Out of the darkness surrounding him a dozen glowing lights suddenly appeared with the whirl of machinery coming to life, and the sound of a _clank, clank, clank _echoed from the lights.

A jet of orange flame erupted all of a sudden, catching the toddler across one arm, and the heat and pain made him cry out. He rolled over on the ground, trying to get away, but the jet of flame followed him. It singed his toes, motivating him to push up and try crawling away faster.

Another jet appeared in front of him, and he cried out as it passed before his nose with an inch to spare. More flames appeared all around him, as the machines lumbering in the dark worked their way closer.

He could see the black metal skulls, the red ribbon insignia on their fore heads. Tears clouded his vision from the pain as it burned its way into him, and all he wanted was to get away, to escape it all. Another jet passed over his shoulders and he felt something inside him shift as he cried out from the pain.

The fear drifted away and instead a rage he had never felt before, a thousand times stronger than his dislike at being taken away from his mother by the cold and creepy man, erupted from within his tiny body. Trunks bared his teeth as his eyes narrowed and a low white glow began forming around his hands.

The machines adjusted their aim and another jet of flame came at him. Trunks instinctively leaped over it and threw his hands at the machine with a deep, guttural roar of anger. A wave of slightly blue tinted white energy erupted from his hands and crushed the machines skull and upper chest cavity in.

Three more jets of orange flame shot from the other machines and Trunks howled in pain and anger. Another white stream of energy shot out of his hands and crushed the two machines beside him. The one at his back raised both cannons and sent out a hotter, blue wave of fire.

Trunks left shoulder was caught and the pain briefly overlapped the rage, sending him tumbling to the ground with a few tears rolling down from his eyes. Then he remembered the creepy man that had taken him away, and was likely to blame for putting him here, and the anger came back stronger than ever.

He rolled onto his back out of the way of the next wave of blue flames and with a final shout, put all his strength into the next attack. The white was more concentrated and had a yellow tint to it, and instead of a wave or beam, a burst of ki shot forth. It ripped through the last machines body and exploded with enough force to render the machine to ash.

Panting in exhaustion, burned and in large amounts of pain, Trunks anger faded and he began crying. Lights over head activated and the form of another man he recalled and felt a vague connection to entered the room. "You did well, Son Trunks." Vegetto stated softly.

* * *

Trunks was once more placed within the capsule and put to sleep. "Did you get what you wanted?" Vegetto questioned. Dr. Gero was frowning as he ran the information before him though some mental calculations. "That is yet to be seen." before anything more could be said the flip-flop of sandals on metal echoed down to them and a loud, if obscene, voice declared "About damn time I found you!"

Vegetto lowered his arms, about to unleash a Big Bang Kamehameha, back to his sides as he stared at the short human. His mange of spiky black hair, orange outfit, and samurai sword clinging to his back confirmed it was Yajirobe. Dr. Gero scowled at the sight of the man.

"What, no greetings for an old friend? Karin would be disappointed ta here that! Lousy cat, sending me out on this almost-goose chase. Here!" untying the slightly lumpy sack from around his waist, Yajirobe flung a small bag of Senzu beans at the saiyan before taking a better look around. "Izzat a kid in there?" he ask incredulously and stepped closer.

"What th' hell, is that a tail? You a father or somethin'?" he asked. "Some guy you are, keeping yer kid locked up in a test tube!" Dr. Gero could only watch the scene unfolding before him in something akin to disbelief as the man drew his blade in an instant and cracked the glass capsule, unleashing a flood of clear blue liquid across the floor, then deftly catching Trunks by the tail in the same manner Dr. Gero had weeks before.

Trunks immediately woke again and began yelling in pain. "Woah!" adjusting his grip Yajirobe slung Trunks over one shoulder. "You oughta be ashamed of yourself! Keeping yer kid in there!" he ranted at Vegetto. Said elder saiyan looked bemused though slightly ashamed at Yajirobes words.

Trunks had quieted down once the man released his tail from the painful grip and was staring at the sword in silent awe, the gleam of light shining off it, the shape, it attracted his attention and fascinated him.

Finally Dr. Gero spoke up once he was able to wrap his mind around what had just occurred. "What do you think you are doing?" he asked in a low tone of cool fury. Yajirobe spun around to face him. "Deliverin' word from the Other World. Kaioshins' working on a way ta seal Piccolo away, but in the meantime he needs a skilled swordsman to train a Son Trunks to utilize the seal. Said to find you!" Yajirobe explained and rotated to stare pointedly at Vegetto again. "You know a Son Trunks?" he asked.

Slightly stunned silence met his question before Vegetto said "You're holding him."

* * *

Narrator: What does Kaioshin plan to do? Will Yajirobe train Trunks to wield a sword? How will this effect Dr. Geros plans to create a semi-perfect fighter to stall Cell? Read on for a preview!

'This is ridiculous!' Yajirobe thought with a scowl as Vegetto summoned a glowing ball in his hand. The underground dome they were now in, simulating the atmosphere of the sky near the ceiling, had been chosen for the training grounds. Vegetto leaned back and threw the ball at the ceiling, then clenched his fist shut tight and muttered "Burst and mix."

Trunks, slightly bloody and bruised from the training he had just received, stared up at the glowing orb in the false sky and felt something trigger deep within his body as his mind retreated behind a more primitive, feral wall.

Power levels:

Original-timeline:

Piccolo/Demon King: 150'000'000(Base). Cymbal II: 120'000'000. Drum II: 100'000'000. Dr. Gero: 70'000'000(Full conversion+enhancements). Vegetto: 40'000'000(Cyborg, design flaws). Super 13: 12'000'000(Rebuilt, design flaw). Cell: 5'000(Baby). Yajirobe: 500. Other Z-Fighters: All dead. Androids 16-21: All destroyed. Baby-toddler Trunks: 7'000, 14'000(enraged), 25'000(Zenkai).


	23. Chapter 23

**Less than a day outside, three months inside RoSaT following Piccolos near-fatal encounter with Android 16(Pretty much two years and a few months before Son Trunks birth)**

Piccolos body was wrecked. That was all it came down to. He was so badly damaged that he could not recover. He had waited as long as he could before giving in to the inevitable and accepting that he was not going to return to his former strength.

His mind strayed to any possible solution here, within the Room of Spirit and Time where he had all the time in the world. At last he concluded that the only possible hope he had of surviving in the battles ahead was to become immortal. That, in and of it self, would be impossible on earth. He _had_ to travel to Namek.

He was confident enough that the space pods used to return to earth remained far below. "I swear you will suffer a hundred years of hell for this pain, _Vegetto_!" he growled.

* * *

In Otherworld, Kaioshins soul and body, now recovered on this side, once more drew the Z-Sword with a low grunt and twisted his body in bone-defying backwards maneuver, planting one hand to the ground and swinging one foot across as though to kick the legs out from under an invisible enemy, and the other up towards their chest.

From there he flipped his body up right and narrowed his eyes with a shout, using a kiai against the ground where the non-existent foe would have landed, and then throwing himself down and forward he drove the blade back into the ground where the heart should be.

Kaioshin leaped backwards into the air and raised his hands out to the side, focusing intently. A pair or translucent-white semi-domes appeared across from one another at least fifteen feet across. Suddenly vanishing with a teleport, he reappeared several feet away and brought his hands almost together with barely half an inch separating them.

The two half-domes shot forward and hesitated millimeters away from one another. Kaioshin shouted out a series of words in the natural language of the Kais and slammed his hands palm to palm. The two halves slammed into a single united dome and became opaque with a dull hum.

Slumping over as his hands trailed away from one another and the dome itself faded from sight, the Supreme Kai relaxed for a few moments. "The process still needs much refinement. I can not rely on him to stay down that long in the real battle, and the words still need to be translated into something Vegetto could speak." he said to himself.

Looking around the lush, though barren, landscape of his home world reminded him of the need to look in on earth side affairs. The sealing-technique had consumed him for much of his time after the betrayal. Pushing upright he teleported to King Kais little world and approached the blue skinned figure. The kaio blinked once or twice then began sputtering in indignation.

"_Supreme Kai_!!? _What are you doing on this less-than-sacred ground_!!?" he managed to shout before realizing he was shouting, and flushing with embarrassment. Kaioshin smiled lightly at that before growing grim-faced again. "I have need to look in upon a certain world. I am sure you recall earth?"

* * *

**One month later**

The ship Son Goku had first used to arrive on Namek crashed to the surface of the planet once more. The few Namekians around noted it with curious recognition and question. Before they could say anything the door slid down with a hiss and Piccolos still weakened form walked down. He had gained a little of his strength back on the journey over.

He knew he would have to take out any threat in his way but from what he understood, the people of his home world were desperately underpowered. They regarded him with puzzled expressions at first before smiling in greeting never the less. "Welcome!" they said.

Piccolo did not attempt to hide his disdain. "Tell me, where are the dragonballs?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone. Their faces fell. "The sacred spheres have been scattered far and wide across our wondrous world. Why do you seek them?" Piccolo stepped closer, then with a little effort appeared right behind them. His hands wrapped around their necks. "I seek immortality." he declared with a low growl as energy erupted from his hands and burned through the skin and bone their.

Purple blood spurting from the stump where the necks used to be, the bodies collapsed to the ground with the heads rolling behind them. Piccolo raised one foot and smashed it down onto the nearest namekians face, hearing a satisfying crunch as bone and tissue were ground to dust beneath his heel.

From far away he felt a power level rivaling his own suddenly turn its attention to his direction and rush towards it. "W-what.. are you.." the other head rasped before being silenced by a finishing ki burst that left a crater behind.

Within minutes the form of Nail alighted on the ground with a blank expression on his face. "You killed them." he stated flatly. Piccolo made no efforts to conceal this or deny it. "Evil lurks in your heart, brother." Nail also stated, sliding the vest he wore to the ground and beginning to circle Piccolo.

Again, he made no effort to deny this. "You _will_ pay for the blood you have taken on this day." Nail declared before throwing his arms out wide with a shout and unleashing the power of his own Super Explosive Wave. Piccolo threw himself backwards and into the air to avoid the attack.

Nail followed him with his eyes and shot into the air as well, this time concentrating his power into a more directed attack and throwing a Full Power Energy Wave towards the other namekians chest. Piccolo crossed his arms before his face and chest before it was on him and burning into his skin.

Nail shot around to the side and repeated his attack. With no choice and flesh burning away, Piccolo shouted and pushed his head aside and forward, narrowly singing the skin on the back of his head and neck away before thrusting and managing to throw the ki wave pushing against him to the side. Thin droplets of his purple blood dripped off of his neck while thicker droplets trailed down his arms to drip off on the ground below.

Nail didn't give him the time to recover. He shot forward and kicked the other namekian in the chest with a backwards twist, the foot driving into the flesh and snapping bone loudly. Piccolo gasped in pain before the foot was torn out and a hailstorm of fists rained down upon his body.

After an eternity of blows Nail delivered one final downward smash that sent Piccolos battered, broken and bloody form crashing to the ground a dozen feet below. A large cloud of dust arose from the large crater left on impact, obscuring and hiding Piccolos body, though the low growl of agony that rose up from his body on impact gave his location away.

'Now...' he thought numbly, the majority of his ki having been drained into his hands and leaving himself wide open for the attacks. He knew he was too broken to successfully defend against them anyway, and this body was near to death even before coming to Namek.

It was thus, as Nail descended into the dust storm, a weakened and rasping voice roared out "Special Beam Cannon!" So close to Piccolo, Nail was unable to do much more than twist forward and to the side with a shout of pain as the spiraling beam of energy tore through his chest and carried on to destroy his spine, taking with it his heart. A split-second delay further and it would have been his head that was annihilated.

Slumping to his knees on the ground, eyes wide, Nail fell flat on his face as dark purple blood gushed out to soak into the rough soil below. It would take him several seconds to regrow his spine and heart even as the hole began to recover within moments, but Nail would not gain the time he needed to fully recover. Piccolos bloody left hand pressed beneath the other namekian just above the hole in his chest and in a flash of white light and energy, the Yugo technique had once again been performed against an unwilling fusee.

When the light faded, the wounds lining Piccolos form were gone. His muscles bulged slightly in display of his greater strength, no longer thin and weak. His bones were firm and thick instead of aching with every movement from their state of damage. Piccolo slowly pushed up to his feet and flexed his fingers and hands a few times, then cracked his neck, threw his head back, and howled in pleasure. He was whole and strong again!

* * *

Kaioshin panted as he swung the Z-Sword around again. Strapped to his form were numerous, fifty tonne weights. Sweat dripped off his forehead into his eyes and he nearly dropped the blade from the stinging pain it inflicted on him. "Again!" King Kais voice declared.

Kaioshin let out a weary sigh and teleported to the first position. From there he began the harsh sword movements few mortals could claim capable to perform. He swung the blade up high as his lower body twisted, his right foot rising into the air every bit as high as the Z-Sword as though catching the enemy beneath the chin with both movements, before he swung the sword in a spiraling slash back downward.

Kaioshin twisted his wrist and the sword suddenly shot from a downward motion that would have cleaved the for in two straight up and to the side again even though a grimace of pain shot across his face at the motion and sudden inverting of weight and g forces. Taking a hold of it with both hands he channeled his ki through the blade and spun in a backwards slash across the imaginary enemy's waist to their feet that left the blade as a mere flash of light. A split-second later and the tip crashed to the ground and exploded the soil fifty feet upward for a dozen feet around.

He shot forward and swung the Z-Sword straight up and then behind him self in an over handed arc that would have, again, split the foe down the middle, then threw the hilt towards his other hand and, catching it, swung the weapon around in another abdomen aimed slash before him, finishing it off with a flip of the wrist as he sent the blade towards the head now and an invisible kiai escaped him with a shout. Right after it finished leaving him he leaped forward into the air and drove the Z-Sword into the soil where the foe should have been soaring backwards to, straight to the hilt.

With the actual sword-fighting of the maneuver completed, Kaioshin thrust his hands out before him and yelled "Eternal Barrier!". Once more the twin half-domes of now almost completely invisible energy appeared on either side of the Z-Sword and imaginary foe and Kaioshin slammed his palms together. The two halves merged into a single unit and the dome became opaque again before fading away entirely after several seconds.

"Very good!" King Kai called over to him, smiling in good nature as he walked forward quickly. Kaioshin panted for breath. He had been doing this for close to four hours today. Even without the drains that come with a living form, his energy felt like it was taxed out for now. He would need to rest and recover.

Before that, however, he intended to once more look in on Piccolo. So far the earth was recovering well enough in the namekians surprising absence, and that very much worried him in the beginning until he realized Piccolos presence was gone from the earth altogether. And with it so was one of the space pods. Now he knew Piccolo was traveling in space yet where his destination may be was unknown.

As he placed his hand to King Kais shoulder, his eyes widened and he felt another grimace stretching his face. The namekian had gathered the seven dragon balls and with them, summoned Porunga.

* * *

Piccolo smiled grimly to himself. Restored to--no, stronger even than his previous full strength had been, he now stood before the mighty dragon. "I wish for Immortality!" he ordered in namekian. The dragon rumbled and a pale flare of light washed over Piccolos body before it was gone. "Your wish is granted. You will not age, nor die from physical assaults no matter had badly mangled your body becomes. What is your next wish?" Porunga boomed down at him.

Piccolo smiled grimly to himself. "There is no need of it." he stated before throwing one hand up and roaring out "Hellzone Grenade!" a dozen orbs of ki shot out, then another, and another. The dragons eyes widened a fraction as Piccolo clenched his hands into fists and the energy exploded.

Scraps of flesh six feet thick in some pieces rained down around his body as drops of black-purple blood the size of small cars showered the near by area for half a mile around. Once more Piccolo threw his head back and laughed from deep within his body. While it was true the dragon could be brought back, he had no intention of allowing that to happen.

He locked onto the ki of Guru and shot off after it. Only with the ancient namekians death would no more dragonballs be created. Ofcourse, he could attempt a fusion for the simple strength of it, but already he had a faint nigling in the back of his mind trying to distract him from doing so. Too much good influence could corrupt him.

* * *

Kaioshin stepped back and considered what he had just seen. If Piccolo merged with Guru the result would be beyond even Vegetto to seal away. And he desperately needed another to know the technique so both could tag-team Piccolo.

If he returned to the living universe he would only have 24 hours. Those were the rules set down long before his time. '... There is only one way. I had hoped to teach the technique to Vegetto directly in that time, but now I see another way. With King Kai to focus me, I can transfer the knowledge directly to him. This will be more difficult. He will need someone on earth who already knows sword fighting to teach it to him or the knowledge won't be helpful.' he thought.

'I would be unable to seal, let alone slay, Piccolo with this strength. I must do what I can to set things up in preparation for Piccolos return.' stabbing the Z-Sword to the ground Kaioshin teleported to Planet Namek.

* * *

Suddenly reappearing before Guru, Kaioshin placed one hand to the now young again ancient namekians own. "Supreme Kai??" he asked in question. "I do not have time to explain. Piccolo is coming for your life. Please, just trust me." he said before vanishing again. When Piccolo did arrive seconds later, the burning aura of Kaioken glowing around him and eyes narrowed in question, he let out a low snarl at the missing namekian elder that quickly became a roar of anger.

The two reappeared on earth. To be precise, in the middle of Korins tower. The old cat looked surprised at their appearance, and Yajirobe himself nearly tumbled over the edge. Clutching with one hand on the guard rail, Yajirobe snapped out a rude exclamation, which Korin laughed at for a moment.

"Well, to what honor do we have that a dead Kaioshin reappears on my doorstep, quite literally? And with him a namekian I can not identify." Korin asked. "Piccolo has obtained immortality and killed the namekian dragon. Surely you are aware of what is going on below?" Kaioshin questioned.

Korin nodded his head once sharply. "Indeed. He has returned to his former Demon King ways." "I have brought Guru here on a pit-stop before the Room of Spirit and Time." turning from Korin the Supreme Kai faced Guru. "I ask that you wait within the Room of Spirit and Time. For every day outside, one year passes inside. You would wait two years before the door closed, permanently to everyone and sealing you inside from the earth. However... after that I would return to it and bring you to my own planet until Vegetto is ready." he said.

Guru looked slightly puzzled, and Korin objected. "But you can't come back to earth after 24 hours!" Kaioshin smiled slightly. "You mistake where I would return to. The Room of Spirit and Time rests in another dimension from earths own. Once the door is permanently closed I can come and go as I please." he explained. Korin let out a soft "Oh!".

"Who is this Piccolo?" Guru interjected suddenly before things could get any further out of hand. Korin explained Piccolos history and what had taken place lately. Kaioshin added on about Piccolos wish and dragon-slaying. Guru frowned through out the whole story, finally becoming a grimace.

"This sickens me that a son of namek could go so bad. Much like Lord Slug before he was banished. But you have a way to deal with this Piccolo?" Guru asked. "Yes." he turned his attention to Yajirobe. "You will have to teach Vegetto how to wield a sword once he recovers. Then I will telepathically transmit the knowledge of the sealing process to Vegettos mind and he will seal Piccolo away in a blade. After that a new dragon can be created and summoned on planet namek to revive me and I can place the blade on my own planet where no other figure will ever find it." Kaioshin told them.

"Long, complicated, and full to the brim with risk." Korin said while shaking his head. "But it is the best we can hope for as it is. But I sense some thing else you aren't telling us." he added. "Yes. I am hoping Guru will bring out any latent power Vegetto possesses to increase his odds of success."

"Hmm..." "'Scuse me folks!" Yajirobe finally cut in. "Why not take Vegetto with you now? Y'know, heal 'em up, bring 'is power out, seal Piccolo?" he asked. Kaioshin shook his head now. "Its not that simple. How will he get back to earth? I can not train him to wield a blade! That relies on you alone." he stated. "Urgh."

* * *

**One Month Later**

The space ship carrying Piccolo passed through the earths atmosphere and crashed to the ground once more near the base of Korins Tower. As the door opened with a hiss of pneumatics, Piccolo stepped out grimly. Behind him came two more sons, Cymbal the Second and Drum the Second. Piccolo the Thirds remains rotting against one wall confirmed that just because he, Piccolo, was immortal did not mean his children would be.

It was an annoyance for sure, but that was why they were so powerful. "Go forth and tear this world apart. Slay, maim, rape and pillage this world for all it is worth! Eventually you will drive the cowardly saiyan from his hiding place." Piccolo ordered sharply.

Drum smiled and revealed his multiple shark-like teeth. "So says the Demon King, so it shall be!" he growled out before shooting into the air. Cymbal shook his head at his brother before rising into the air as well. What Piccolo hadn't noticed and likely wouldn't for some time to come, was that more of Nail and Kami had bled over into him than that of Piccolo himself.

Obviously he was still going to follow his orders, but he would take no pleasure from it. He would not allow himself such emotion. But he would also not go out of his way to do as commanded, either. So what if a human here and there escaped? Eventually they were bound to cross paths again anyway, and then that human might not be so lucky that time.

Rising into the air he shot off in another direction as Piccolo himself rose up into the sky to return to his throne. As he did so he stopped at the top of Korins Tower and found both the senzu plant and the old cat himself missing. A burning rage that had been sleeping just beneath the surface erupted and he destroyed the entire tower in his anger. Because some how, once again, Kaioshin was still one step ahead of him.

* * *

**  
Five months later**

One country had been completely eradicated, while several towns around the local area were ruined. A total of one billion lives had been taken. It sent the rest of the worlds population into a fit of hyper panic and, like so long before, they swore allegiance to Piccolo and tried to appeal to his way, to appease him and keep themselves alive.

He was not so willing to allow them to live this time around. Drum and Cymbal were sent to which ever city or two had most recently tried to get protection from him or had at one point carried a faint ki signature far above the pathetic humans dwelling there, and then that location was destroyed.

People began turning to lives of crime and destruction like they had before, but all it did was delay Piccolos wrath being delivered upon them. Others grew hopeless and took the easiest way out. But word was spreading that something was resisting Piccolo, and it was that something that was to eventually rise up and deal with him.

Yajirobe paused within the small village not far from Mount Paozu. The Ox-king was surprised to see him. "Yajirobe?" he asked in wonder. "Yo." the smaller man answered. "You seen or heard about Vegetto lately?" he questioned. Ox-king stared at him blankly. "One 'No' ta go." Yajirobe muttered sarcastically.

"I gotta go. Jus' spread tha word, alright? He's gonna rise up and take care'a Piccolo in due time." what he didn't add was that due-time meant at least ten years, and that it wasn't actually Vegetto that would do it. He was off searching for Vegetto, who would direct him to a Son Trunks, who would be taught the art of swordsman ship to seal Piccolo away and be carried off to another planet for all eternity.

Yajirobe shook his head again at those thoughts. What a hassle! He turned to go when Ox-king laid a massive hand on his shoulder. "I can't do that." he said thickly. "If that rumor spreads here, then we're next on the list to be wiped off the face of the earth." he stated.

"And if you are the one who keeps telling everyone to spread it around..." Ox-king trailed off, drawing out his massive axe in the process and raising it over head. "Aw, hell!" Yajirobe muttered as the massive shadow that fell over his body showed a large weapon added to it.

Rolling to the side just before the axe crashed halfway through the ground where he had just been, Yajirobe drew his own sword and hacked the shaft in two. "Ya disgust me! Turnin' on yer daughters husband! Shame on you!" he snapped. Ox-king muttered something lowly beneath his breath.

"You'll get revived eventually. If yer lucky!" Yajirobe threatened as he brandished his sword and took a few steps closer. Ox-king was visibly sweating as he took a step back and tripped over his own feet. A few minutes later and the large man was unconscious, hog-tied, and left where he had been for the rest of the villagers to take care of.

* * *

**Seven months later**

Yajirobe was quickly growing sick of this goose-chase. He was practically being hunted! Every where he went, no matter how well he attempted to hide his power level, those two goons of Piccolo showed up within a day, if not hours

He had to search rapidly through each location, questioning when he could about Vegetto and, now that Kaioshin was relaying message through to him via King Kai, Dr. Gero as well. Some ratted him out to Drum and Cymbal when they got there, others tried to ignore him and his rumors, and more still accused who ever it was he was saying would say them of being a coward for hiding out while the masses got slain.

So far the world population had been cut down to 1/20th of what it had been, and another few counties lay in ruin. People were finding it impossible to cope. No one believed themselves safe or likely to survive another day. No matter what they did, they died. So why go along with it at all? The suicide rate jumped up by at least 40%.

It sickened Yajirobe even further that these people would go out like that. It meant Piccolo was winning. "Where tha' hell didja hide, Vegetto??" he demanded.

* * *

Piccolo himself was growing extremely frustrated. The world was going to hell in a hand basket, essentially, and still the saiyan had not shown himself. He couldn't be dead. Not unless... he had been caught in the same explosion that day. If that was the case, and he was beginning to believe it had been, then this entire venture was futile!

His fingers drummed along the side of his throne as he considered what to do from here. Korin and the Senzu beans were long gone, the door to the Room of Spirit and Time was sealed, Guru was missing from Namek and the dragon could even now be restored to life again, and Vegetto was still eluding him. With nothing better to do, he mentally called his sons back to being doing things a little differently from before.

* * *

**One year, one day later**

Back in the present, Vegetto and Yajirobe were walking down a narrow tunnel that would eventually lead them to an underground dome, Trunks held lightly by the human and still watching the blade he carried with much interest. It simulated the upper atmosphere and the weather conditions that would brew there, to train Red Ribbon soldiers and machines alike there once upon a time.

Now it would be used to mimic a nights full moon and transform a tiny demi-saiyan into a hulking oozaru. When the trio finally emerged from the tunnel into the dome, several large machines awaited them. Painted midnight black with the Red Ribbon insignia on their small fanged skulls, attached to a massive torso and a flamethrower attached to either thin arm, ending in equally thin legs. Hints of silver appeared here and there, mostly on the middle of each joint or the back of the head.

"I've got a bad feelin' 'bout this." Yajirobe stated. Vegetto remained silent as he gestured for Trunks to be set on the ground. However, the demi-saiyan had other plans. He clung to the humans outfit tightly with his little fingers and toes and stared pointedly at the sword.

"Aw, come on! Lemme go!" Yajirobe muttered, frowning as he tried to gently pry Trunks off. He let go with one hand while clinging all the tighter with his others, reaching out for the shiny, pointy object. Vegetto approached and tugged him off loosely. And tore a hole in Yajirobes outfit.

"Trunks." Vegetto said in a soft, yet commanding tone. His son blinked and turned his head partially to the elder saiyan in curiosity. With out saying another word, Vegetto turned and carried him towards the machines. Trunks gaze wandered about him and took in the machines. He began struggling against Vegettos grip as he saw them.

Said elder saiyan paused before a single unit which in turn followed him with its eyes. "Trunks. Watch." he ordered softly in the same tone. "Ka.. me..." energy began growing in the palm of his right hand as he slowly raised it up. "Ha.. me.." the energy grew larger still and Trunks stopped fighting, watching instead. Suddenly Vegetto thrust his hand forward with a shout. "HA!!" the energy grew into a beam as it rushed from his hand straight into, and through, the machines upper body.

Trunks watched in fascination. Slowly lowering his hand and turning to stare at his son, Vegetto said "Now you try it." he set Trunks down and watched him.

With a slightly pained expression of concentration, Trunks raised one arm and murmured something unintelligible. Nothing. "Again." Vegetto said. Trunks once more raised his briefly lowered arm and muttered something. A flicker of ki across his finger tips.

Within fifteen minutes Trunks succeeded in a basic ki attack, though it glanced off the machines gleaming chest. "Very good, Son Trunks." Vegetto stated in the same tone of voice from before. "You can succeed." stepping back and away he rose into the air and waited.

No longer being obstructed by the elder saiyan the machines came further to life within moments and began approaching him. Trunks looked back at the rising saiyan with confusion before a jet of flame rushed at him and the heat quickly got his attention.

Welts rose up on his skin wherever the flames passed and he found himself on his back in pain and fear again. "Come on! Fight back." Vegettos voice called down to him, itching to drop down and destroy the machines himself after what had happened to Gohan due to his inaction...

But he couldn't do it this time. If nothing else, he would send the power ball into the sky and Trunks would transform. Perhaps if he did so fast enough the machines would be unable to raise their power levels accordingly before being crushed.

Below, his son was struggling. Now he was crawling away but was again getting himself boxed in. Either his natural instincts would take over and save his life again, or he would be in grave risk of death.

Trunks fear of the dark machines had risen far higher from what it had been in yesterdays attack. The pain was sharper, driving deeper into him. Suddenly the flames cut off and the hulking machines shifted over to another tactic.

Namely, beating him into oblivion. The first kick sent him soaring a dozen feet to be caught by one of the others and thrown back towards the ground. He cried out as something inside cracked when he was smashed forward again. A fragment of rib jutted out of his torso, blood dripping from it.

This new pain dwarfed the previous. It left his screaming from the burning agony. And in that pain his primal saiyan instincts awoke at last.

Struggling to his feet, Trunks barely dodged a kick aimed at his chest and managed to wrap his hands around the ankle tightly, even as the bone was driven back inside his body. Gritting his teeth against the sensation and anger that was replacing the pain, Trunks pulled with all his might.

The sound of steel tearing with a loud screech echoed off the walls as from the knee and down one leg was ripped off, wires dangling uselessly. Trunks dropped it to the ground and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even as the machine fell to the ground beside him, another was approaching from behind and slammed into his spine with little mercy.

Again he cried out in pain. 'Come on! I know you can do this!' Vegetto shouted silently, fingers twitching as he considered just giving him a senzu bean. Apparently Yajirobe didn't Vegettos reservations. Muttering loudly the man dashed out into the battle field where Trunks had landed a short distance away.

He drew half a bean out and paused long enough to say "Chew up, kid!" as he dropped it into Trunks mouth, then tore off back towards safety. Not a moment too soon, as a flare of fire scorched the ground where he had previously been.

Trunks managed to swallow the senzu and felt a wonderful sensation rush through his body. The agony trailed off, and in its place, comfort fell into place.

No longer distracted, Trunks rolled over onto his side and stared at the machines with a growing anger. He raised one hand like the taller man had done and focused his anger into it. As he did so he briefly remembered what he had done the night before as he mumbled out the words.

An intense stream of ki shot from his hand, not quite a full kamehameha but longer than the average burst. It crashed into the nearest machine and this time did not glance off, this time it ripped the head and upper torso open as it exploded.

A slow sense of fatigue drew on him at using up his power in one destructive attack. He slumped towards the ground again as the remaining trio of machines approached.

A short way off Vegetto dropped to the ground as he raised one hand palm up. A glowing sphere of energy appeared as he concentrated, then leaned back and down with the arm the sphere was glowing above, and finally threw it straight towards the ceiling above his son. "Burst and mix.." he muttered lowly as he clenched his hand into a fist.

A flare of light from above caught the demi-saiyans attention as a false full moon formed. His eyes widened as he leaned his head back further to stare at it for a few seconds, then brown fur began sprouting from his flesh as his body expanded and an ape-like muzzle extended out of his face.

The three machines approaching him paused as Trunks transformed into a towering Oozaru.

* * *

Narrator: How will Kaioshins plans be effected by Dr. Geros 'training' efforts? What happened to Guru and Korin, not to mention the senzu bean plant? How will Trunks act under the primal instincts of his great ape form? Keep on reading for a preview!

Trunks, now around the age of 3, looked back on the last couple of years. Yes, it had been hard, those early training months, but he had eventually gained control over his Oozaru form thanks to his fathers patience and teachings. Now he had mastered the first two forms of Kaioken, even transformed!

But his enemies were getting harsher and harsher. He needed everything he had just to keep up, and if he fell behind for more than a few moments he was taken apart. He hated those days, when he was put through 'Zenkai Enhancing Sessions'; a long winded term for punishment, essentially! He shivered briefly remembering his encounter with Super 13.

Power levels:

Original-timeline:

Piccolo/Demon King: 40'000(Damaged), 150'000'000(Recovered base). Nail(Actual Namekian): 45'000. Cymbal II: 120'000'000. Drum II: 100'000'000. Dr. Gero: 70'000'000(Full conversion+enhancements). Vegetto: 40'000'000(Cyborg, design flaws). Super 13: 12'000'000(Rebuilt, design flaw). Cell: 5'000(Baby). Yajirobe: 500. Other Z-Fighters: All dead. Androids 16-21: All destroyed. Machines: 5'000(Mark I), 30'000-250'000(Mark II). Baby-toddler(Ages 1-2) Trunks: 25'000, 250'000(Great Ape).


	24. Chapter 24

Trunks mind was a whirlwind of fierce emotions, primal instincts. One of the loudest of those screaming at him was to fight, to rage, to destroy and it was aiming him at the three small figures arrayed around his body. But even as his eyebrows met together and he roared in challenge, his pupils faintly took note of the form of the floating creature nearly on the other side of this area.

Mouth opening up wide as white energy began pooling together to form a massive beam, Trunks beat his chest and swung one fist out at the nearest figure. The three machines had amplified their strength once the demi-saiyan began his transformation into the massive Oozaru he now was.

There dark metal skin practically glowed with the faint white aura radiating around it. The one closest to Trunks brought up both hands and caught the fist, even as it pushed the feet back into the ground and gouged out a section where they dug in.

The one beside it brought up the jet and an intense white stream of fire erupted across Oozaru Trunks hand. He screeched in pain and further rage and for a moment, the energy gathering in his mouth faltered, but then seemed to increase its size with double the speed and in moments fired down at his enemies.

The damage was too great for fire baring machine to withstand and bits and pieces of its armored form began pealing off and melting under the heat and pressure of the beam. Once that machine was reduced to a pile of smoking slag on the ground Trunks let up and panted after ward, before he was picked up by the badly burned hand and slammed into the floor face first with a thunderous crash.

The two remaining machines converged on his location and opened up the flames to maximum. Oozaru Trunks roared in agony as he leaped up to his feet to get away from the pain, mind swimming in confusion and anger and pain. His instincts told him to get away, to fight these enemies from a distance, and he backed away even as he began gathering up energy in between his jaws again.

The machines had to get closer to keep the great ape in range, but the enclosed space gave him little room to flee to and in only a few moments he was backed up against the wall.

Beating his chest with his good fist, he screeched again when the fire came into contact with his legs and his leap to get away sent him crashing head first into the ceiling, in turn leaving the great ape tumbling to the ground face first again even as he attempted to right his body.

When he crashed to the ground with another thunderous smash, the beam in his mouth erupted out of control towards the tiny figures in not fighting him. The taller of them brought one arm up to the chest, hand pointed toward the ceiling, and back handed the beam right back at him.

It slammed into his muzzle and exploded with twice the speed and force of usual. The only good that came of the blast was that another machine was caught in the range and turned to scrap metal. Oozaru Trunks was left with a bloody face and long, open wound running along the right side of his muzzle up to just past his eye on that side the practically gushed the red fluid out.

The final machine approached and took aim at the practically immobile foe.

In his mind, Trunks was struggling. His instincts cried out for him to move, but his body was not responding. His emotions left him more angry than scared, but fear was certainly a factor right now. Through the blood dripping down into his eyes, he saw the white flames rushing out to meet his face and barely got them closed in time for it wash over his skin.

Even as the heat cauterized the wound closed, it left him roaring louder than ever before and pushed him to strike out with the only limb that was still uninjured, his tail, which shot down and smashed the head of the machine straight down into the large belly.

The flames faltered long enough for his tail to make a second strike and send the machine crashing into a wall to the side. Unable to remain conscious, Trunks faded into blissful rest, not even waking up with the false moon above him was destroyed with a single well aimed ki burst from his father.

Vegetto shot forward across the area to examine the state of his second son. A pained grimace spread across his face at the sight. Flesh in many places deep red with welts and second degree burns, the scar permanently etched onto his face from slightly beneath his right lower lip and trailing to just beside his right eye.

Yajirobe approached at a slightly slower rate and let out a low, muttered curse. "Still thinkin' Geros plan is so hot?" he questioned in disapproval.

* * *

**Approximately two years later**

Trunks, now around the age of 3, looked back on the last couple of years. Yes, it had been hard, those early training months, but he had eventually gained control over his Oozaru form thanks to his fathers patience and teachings. Now he had mastered the first two forms of Kaioken, even transformed!

But his enemies were getting harsher and harsher. He needed everything he had just to keep up, and if he fell behind for more than a few moments he was at risk of being taken apart. He hated those days, when he was put through 'Zenkai Enhancing Sessions'; a long winded term for punishment, essentially. He shivered briefly remembering his encounter with Super 13.

The android had not been kind. Both his arms were broken and his jaw bone cracked. He had spent a week recovering with the pain. Only just today was he able to move and talk again with out wincing from at least a sharp twinge of discomfort.

As was usual, at four in the morning he had been awoken and after a brief examination of his body and the latest 'Zenkai', the term his father used to refer to his bodies ability to grow ever stronger from terrible damage and at times the brink of death it self, Trunks was put through two hours of swordsmanship training with Master Yajirobe before breakfast.

After that it was another six hours of fighting, off an on, in between his Oozaru form and with and without Kaioken. Sometimes the cursed machines he fought against matched his strength, sometimes they surpassed it enough to break his body.

Finally he was allowed lunch if he was in any fit shape to handle it, then another hour of swordsmanship training and right back into the fighting until dusk.

So far he had not had the time to learn anything beyond the basic ki attacks he had in his great ape form, or when he was mentally strained and pushed to his limits and something happened by accident. His melee skills were acceptable enough as it was, and his father had told him it was far more important to learn the Kaioken and master his great ape transformation.

But even though he had done these things, he did not know why he was being pushed so hard. It was never discussed around him, save for the occasionally hint he wrangled out of Master Yajirobe, and even then it was scarcely helpful.

* * *

But it was indeed grim in the world outside. The human population was being vastly reduced as the landmasses and continents were turned uninhabitable by Piccolos servants. Piccolo himself was finding the downsides to being the unchallenged ruler of the planet; he had little to keep himself entertained or satisfied.

The hunt for Vegetto was little more than a joke at this point. He had given up on the saiyan, though he redoubled his efforts to locate the Red Ribbon Army and Dr. Gero. He knew Kaioshin still existed and was no doubt training the saiyan even now, the dragon balls likely having been used in preparation for the day either grew strong enough to defeat him. For all he knew, his foes were immortal just as much as he himself is!

These thoughts did very little to make Piccolo any happier nor kinder to the earth and its people. The rumors spread years ago about a figure waiting to come forth and defeat him some how lived on in the shadows and only grew, no matter the effort his sons went to to erase it.

And yet... in a way, Piccolo was almost looking forward to the day the saiyan made his reappearance and stand. To destroy him utterly and completely, how satisfying it will be...

* * *

Trunks raised the thin blade in time to block Master Yajirobes own, the clang of metal meeting metal echoing through out the small room. Trunks pushed and knocked Yajirobes sword aside, then swung it sharply forward. Despite their strength difference, the man was able to parry it with his own sword in time to avoid anything more then a slight tear in his shirt.

With a twist of the wrist, Yajirobe knocked Trunks sword aside a few inches and slashed at the demi-saiyans exposed side. Trunks, in turn, leaned aside to avoid the slash and swung his sword to the side to block it from coming at him from an angle.

Grunting, Yajirobe leaped back to give them some room to move again and lowered his weapon briefly. "Not half bad. Yer gettin' there, kid." he stated, raising a hand to wipe the few droplets of sweat there away before it could drip down into his eyes.

Trunks shrugged the compliment aside. "It's hard to know where 'there' is, Master." he replied. Yajirobe shrugged in turn. "Yer gonna need to get a heck'uve a lot stronger before yer ready, but yer skill is improvin' a little every day." he stated as though it were obvious, then sighed.

Trunks knew that sigh meant he might just get a hint of what was going on if he was patient enough. And, as expected, after a few moments Yajirobe murmured something under his breath. Trunks managed to snag most of it, "gonna need Shenlong ter revive most of us by that point."

He did not know who Shenlong was, or what he meant by revive most of us, but it was another piece of the puzzle. Someday, perhaps soon, he would know what was going on around him.

* * *

**Ten years later**

Trunks spun and slashed, destroying the machine in front of him with a ruthlessness he reserved only for these moments. It was split in half, and each half taken out with a shouted Kiai and low level ki blast that erupted from either hand. The ash that rained down from the former machine gathered among the rest laying against the ground as Trunks took out one after the other.

Suddenly Super 13 was beside him and Trunks was smashed in the side before he could avoid him. 'Stupid! You knew he hadn't shown up yet, and still you weren't ready! Damn it!!' clutched at his broken ribs lightly and face set in a frown, Trunks turned to face the towering android and shouted out "Kaioken times five!"

Instantly his muscles bulged out sharply as the firey red and white interspersed aura burned into life around his body. Stabbing his sword into the ground, Trunks shot forward and began kicking the lower tier machines out of his way, most gaining holes or at the least deep indention's from his attacks. Super 13 attempted to shoot off to one side.

And found Trunks nearly on him already. The demi-saiyan did not grin or show any other sign of mocking attitude towards the android, having only a cold respect for its capabilities and in some cases, lack thereof. He drew back both hands and shouted "Burning Attack!"

The yellowish burst of ki shot from both hands rapidly, but he already knew that they wouldn't harm the machine. Even at this distance, the Android Barrier was capable of rising up almost instantly, and sure enough it took each blow against it without trouble.

Which is why Trunks was already preparing for the next stage, raising both hands to his forehead as he cried out "Taiyoken!" The semi-unexpected attack blinded Super 13 in one eye, though he was able to turn his head so the other escaped the flare with out damage or effect.

Ignoring the sharp twinge of pain from his ribs, Trunks launched into the air and off the ground just as a Super Explosive Wave came rushing for him. The speed behind the attack nearly caught up to him right away and Trunks was force to bow his head into his crossed over arms and tank the attack.

It shredded his black gi and left his pants in ruins, little more than tattered shorts, and even his boots were only hanging together by a thred, but barely a scratch was left on his actual physical form itself. Trunks raised his head with a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips, which was knocked off his face rather literally with an overhead double fisted smash.

Trunks crashed into the ground with enough force to leave a crater behind, again, and let out a drawn out low moan of pain. 'Stupid! I should have prepped another Taiyoken!' he shouted at himself as the android dropped down to drive one knee into his stomach.

Trunks coughed and a little dribble of blood trailed down his chin. The other machines began closing in on them again. With an 'oomph' of effort the demi-saiyan thrust his body up and managed to push Super 13 off, then rise into the air where he could backflip into an upright position again.

Already his opponent was on his feet and charging forward. Trunks shot backwards to where he had stabbed his sword into the ground and wrapped one hand around the hilt tightly as he passed, barely managing to get his fingers around it in time to drag it out of the ground.

Super 13 sent another Super Explosive Wave forward and this time Trunks brought his sword to bare, taking it in both hands and holding it at a low angle before him. Just before the attack could reach him Trunks thrust his hands towards the ceiling and cleaved it in two, each piece going in separate directions in a 'V' pattern beside him.

Trunks threw himself forward even as another dribble of blood slipped out of his mouth to run down his chin and drip off onto the ground, ignoring the probable internal damage and the pain it brought that he was sustaining through the same kind of mental training he had undergone to keep control over his Oozaru state.

Even as he approached, Super 13 brought to life another Android Barrier. Both knew what was going to happen... but this time Trunks did something different. Just before he was on the machine he twisted and flung the sword at Super 13s head. As it had every time before, the sword pierced the barrier and carried on to embed it self part way through the left side of the androids skull.

The speed it attained coupled with the speed of which Trunks was already moving was too great for Super 13 to over come, even though he had pulled back and to the side just before contact.

That blow was enough to finish things as the other machines became docile again and Dr. Gero himself entered the room, accompanied, to his dismay, by his mother. "What?" he asked, dropping to the ground and pulling his sword free of Super 13s skull and pausing just long enough to make sure the machine did not collapse.

"Cell is coming to fruition ahead of schedule. Soon he will be ready to hatch. You are not needed for the project any longer." the man stated in a tone of cold indifference. Trunks resisted the urge, yet again, to drive his weapon through the former mans skull. Unlike with Super 13, such a move would be fatal on Dr. Gero.

"Trunks may yet be needed.." Bulma insisted tiredly. Dr. Gero turned on her. "We have been over this time and again, woman! The Time Machine is finished, and your offspring will not gain from its uses! Cell will become perfect and return in time to destroy the demon once and for all!" he insisted with the same tone of coldness, but with more fury in his voice now.

Bulma did not argue. They _had_ been over this before. Cell was the only way they could be sure to destroy Demon King Piccolo. Vegetto had died for that cause, and Trunks nearly killed, after Cymbal and Drum finally found this location. The death of his father triggered the deepest emotional pain he had ever felt and the rage it ignited in his heart and soul had brought him into a state he had not felt since the earliest Oozaru transformations.

Watching the video Dr. Geros spy bugs had managed to capture of the event left Trunks disturbed. His power had surpassed Piccolos at that point according to the readings, when he tore the demons sons into little more than a bloody mist in the air and deep smear on the ground, but after wards he had lapsed into unconsciousness for several days.

After recovering from the explosive but short encounter, Trunks became more determined than ever to succeed in seeing Piccolos demise, but without the ability to enter that explosive state again he knew the likelier to succeed at this point was Cell.

Back to the present, however. "Your time spent to make you powerful enough to fight the demon will not be wasted. Once Cell is ready and goes to the past, you will go forth and do you utmost to eradicate the demon. Either you will fail, or you will succeed."

* * *

Narrator: Can Trunks push himself to enter the Pseudo/False-Super Saiyan state again? Will he even need to if Supreme Kai transmits the knowledge of the sealing tech to him? What about altering the past?? Keep on reading for a preview!

Trunks sword crashed down into Piccolos chest, driving deep into the heart, though the namekian laughed the attack off. "How futile, and utterly foolish." he growled, backhanding Trunks nearly off the edge of the palace into open air. Bleeding from a busted lip, Trunks managed to right himself and come to a stop, and as he remembered from memories, brought both arms out slightly to his side.

The stance was almost familiar to Piccolo, and he placed it after a few moments. "The Bigbang Kamehameha?" he questioned in a low voice. "Eternal Barrier!" Trunks shouted, already drawing his hands towards one another as the almost fully opaque half domes formed on either side of Piccolo.

The namekian blinked twice before throwing himself backwards, but that brief pause was all it took. The twin domes slammed into place to form one whole sphere.

Power levels:

Original-timeline:

Piccolo/Demon King: 150'000'000(Recovered base). Cymbal II: 120'000'000, dead. Drum II: 100'000'000, dead. Dr. Gero: 70'000'000(Full conversion+enhancements). Vegetto: 40'000'000(Cyborg, design flaws), dead. Super 13: 12'000'000(Rebuilt, design flaw). Machines: 30'000-250'000(Mark II). Baby-toddler(Ages 1-2) Trunks: 25'000(base), 250'000(Great Ape), 60'000(Zenkai). Child Trunks(ages 3): 1000(lowered base), 140'000(natural base), 380'000(Kaioken x2), 420'000(Kaioken x3), 1'400'000(Great Ape). Teen Trunks(age 13): 3'000'000(natural base), 15'000'000(Kaioken x5), 30'000'000(Great Ape), 45'000'000(Pseudo-Super Saiyan), 450'000'000(Pseudo- Super Saiyan+Kaioken x10). Cell: 5'000(Baby), 380'000'000(Inperfect). Yajirobe: 1000, 3000. Other Z-Fighters: All dead. Nail(Actual Namekian): Dead. Androids 16-21: All destroyed.


	25. Chapter 25

**Two nights later**

Trunks paced back and forth before his floor-level bed in the cramped and poorly lit room, mind going over what he had been told by Dr. Gero recently. He had thought that Cell and he would fight together against Piccolo when the time came. Now he was to be replaced entirely, as Cell was sent back in time to become perfect and return to destroy the threat looming over earth.

And he, Trunks, would be sent out to his death in the mean time. If any damage at all could be dealt, it would likely be recovered or regenerated by the time Cell returned. The entire venture was pointless. It was just another means of exacting vengeance against his father for actions performed decades ago!

He considered, then, what his options were. Because he had no intention of dying futility after all these years of hard work! 'No, Cell is already over twice as powerful as Piccolo currently is. Combined with Kaioken he can mop the floor with him. If anyone should use the Time Machine it should be me; if for no other reason then to gain more time to train.' he thought with a hint of anger.

Pausing to sit down on the edge of his bed, he closed his eyes: both to calm himself to think clearer, and to recall some of the stories Yajirobe had told him as a small child of what his father used to be like before the incident that effectively rendered him Dr. Geros puppet.

"_Vegetto was often brash an' sarcastic, doin' what he felt like. He didn't take orders like this from anyone, 'specially not a creep like Gero. Hell, he didn't even respect th' only god we got left watchin' over us_!" Yajirobe had said to a then three year old Trunks over lunch.

"_Those were th' good ol' days, kid. Back then, th' only threats ta earth coulda been crushed by yer dad." Yajirobe added in between bites. "Someday yer gonna surpass 'im, though. Yer jus' gonna need ta train harder than ever, but ya can do it_."

"You were wrong, Yajirobe. I wasn't able to surpass dad. But maybe I can change that... maybe.." calmer and thinking clearer again something else occurred to him. "Maybe I can change it all..."

* * *

King Kai was now residing on Kaioshins planet on a semi-permanent basis, and though he rarely needed sleep or food as a kaio, his body was still mortal and was showing signs of massive strain. Kaioshins healing was having less of an effect every time, as nothing can compensate for a true rest.

In the little time he wasn't watching over earth and the going on's therein, King Kai was mentally sparring with Kaioshin and Guru in order to prepare his mind for the transference process. Body and mind were constantly strained, but how can you argue with the god of the universe? Especially when a threat that killed that god once already could someday grow powerful enough to hunt him, and all life in the universe, to an end?

So King Kai endured the strain and pressure. He ignored his fatigue and watched. Several feet away Guru reappeared from his hunt through the Supreme Kais teleportation method. It was vital that the nearly ancient-restored-to-youth namekian be able to return to earth long enough to grab Trunks and bring him to the planet.

Kaioshin _had_ slightly revised his original plan in this time, and so they were to meet face to face now. It would still require King Kai to transfer the memories correctly, for not even Kaioshin had enough mental discipline for that task to ensure all would go accordingly.

After wards Kaioshin himself would deposit Trunks in the Room of Spirit and Time to gain control over his newly unlocked potential, and if there was one thing the Supreme Kai had learned about Saiyans, it was that their emotions were a very, very driving force.

Yes, he would be disoriented and confused, but when he realized he was effectively trapped, he would also grow angry. Or he would grow calm and focused enough. Either way had seen Super Saiyans arise in millennium past, though anger succeeded more often.

"Very good. I believe you have enough of the skill down to succeed, Guru." Kaioshin called over to him. Panting from the process of teleporting ten times in half an hour and using up most of his ki in the process as the technique stole his energy to keep performing it, the namekian managed to materialize a small chair in a similar likeness to the throne inside his hunt nearby, he sat down.

Kaioshin approached him and raised his hands. A low white energy washed over Guru and his ki was restored. Being dead, Kaioshin could do this two or three times as much as when he was living, the same to his teleports, without becoming overly fatigued.

Before either of them could say anything King Kais slightly raspy voice broke the air. "Son Trunks has made up his mind. He is preparing to steal the Time Machine and set off for the past. He intends to warn his father about the attack ahead of time, and gain knowledge of when Piccolo himself descended on Dr. Geros android laboratory so he can prevent Vegetto from ever becoming a cyborg himself."

Kaioshins eyes narrowed. "Than he would endanger all that we hope to accomplish. Not even the Dai Kaioshin dared tamper with the timeline without foreknowledge of events. If Son Trunks changes the wrong events of the past, we may never meet here. He can not be allowed to succeed."

Turning his attention back to Guru, Kaioshin motioned for him to stand at King Kais right shoulder, while standing at the left.

* * *

Trunks sword crashed into Super 13s hand. "I don't intend to destroy you, so get out of my way!" he ordered. The machine silently unleashed another Super Explosive Wave, but before Trunks could hope to dodge something with three times as much power crashed into his back, sending his sword flying out of his grip and him soaring past the machine end over end to break the doors leading ahead off their joints.

His body kept pushing the iron doors for seventy feet as the energy beam at his back burned flesh from bone, and the hiss it released nearly erased his scream of pain. He had forgotten what _this_ level of agony could do. Finally the doors smashed into a wall and the sudden lack of forward momentum triggered the detonation.

Or it would have, had Dr. Geros form not suddenly appeared at Trunks side with his left palm out and sucking the ki away from the attack. An expression of unreserved, burning fury stretched his face in a snarl. "_Do you understand how close you came to destroying all hope for the future, you worthless, sickening, demonic child_!?" he rasped out in a voice so angered it was almost a whisper, belaying the underlying tones of promised agony ahead.

Trunks himself had slid down the wall to lay on his stomach as blood seeped out from the visibly blackened muscles and scorched bone revealed along his shoulders and running down his spine to his tail, which had likewise been burned enough to turn the fur along it to ash and scald the flesh beneath.

Silently tears rolled down his clenched shut eyes and his teeth ground against one another, holding the former scream he had at first allowed to escape deep within his chest even as it struggled to be freed again.

It escaped as Dr. Gero drove one foot down into his back and crushed several muscles. Within seconds his voice echoed off the walls and than vanished from the human audio range. He was a centimeter from losing consciousness, with everything but his own pain being blocked out. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, and right now he couldn't be heard either.

All that existed was the pain and the anger it brought with it. Then he felt Dr. Geros foot twist. Something in him snapped. Some mental barrier was yet again overcome. A blazing red and white aura burst into life around his form as his pupils vanished, muscles bulging out, and his hair rose up on end with a faint redish hue entering it.

One hand reached up from behind his back with with inhuman speeds and wrapped itself around Dr. Geros ankle, gripping it tightly, and when it was unable to tear the offending object free of his body, a sharper tinge of red entered the aura and the grip suddenly crushed the metal inward.

Drawing the remains free and throwing them aside, Trunks legs shot up one after the other and kicked him in the lower back with enough force to send him into the wall and leave a dent of his body behind. Slowly the enraged demi-saiyan lowered each leg back to the ground and pushed his feet beneath his body, rising up to a hunched over stance.

Blood drizzled down from his wounds, but he gave it no heed as he shot forward to grab the machine by the back of the neck. He pressed his mouth close to Dr. Geros ear and through clenched hissed out "_Your... reign.. is.. OVVVVVEEEEEERRRR!!_" once again overcome by his wrath what little control he had a moment before was again gone and his other hand drove it self into Dr. Geros skull to penetrate the glass dome surrounding his brain.

He seized up and a moment later grew slack in Trunks hands, but the demi-saiyan didn't care. He fed energy directly through his limbs to his hands and without calling it out, unleashed his Burning Attack from the palms.

He was yanked off of Dr. Gero by one hand wrapped around his spine, which in turn allowed his attack to flare in a wider range and turn the man-machine into a pile of red-hot liquefying slag. Super 13 threw Trunks back-down off the machines creator, where he smashed into the only device in the falling apart room that truly mattered; the Time Machine.

A sickening crack echoed off the walls as Trunks spine cracked open only eight vertabrae and allowed the inner marrow to seep out. That, truly, was enough to send him over the edge into unconsciousness with a roar. He slumped forward towards the floor when a green skinned figure appeared for an instant, pressing one hand to the demi-saiyan and one to the Time Machines capsulize button.

All three vanished just as quickly as the first appeared, even as Super 13 approached with the intent to avenge his fallen creator.

* * *

Guru, Trunks, and the now capsulized Time Machine reappeared before Kaioshin. Already a strange light and aura burned around the saiyans battered form as some degree of his inner potential was drawn out. The Supreme Kai shook his head. "The form is on the right track... yet he still lacks control and the power to fully transform." raising both hands over the demi-saiyan, a white glow was awash over his form and when it faded, all wounds were gone -- though he did not awaken, and the previous aura and light had faded.

Kaioshin motioned King Kai closer and pressed a hand to his shoulder. "Focus us on his mind, preferably sub-conscious now that he is still resting." the Supreme Kai ordered. The kaio wearily did as told, and soon enough Kaioshin could see hundreds of mental images flashing by. He focused deeply on an area that did not feel full of memory already and soon enough found empty space.

Grimacing as he dredged up his own memories and focused them through the link with King Kai into Trunks mind, he pushed intently until the darkness there began filling in. This did come with some side effects, however. His body was spasming as information was forcibly written into his brain.

It took nearly three minutes to complete the procedure, and when that was done, another several to ensure the memories took and Trunks would have no long lasting effects or damage. Soon enough he was brought back to consciousness, and along that way his body had dropped out of the Pseudo-Super Saiyan state.

"Wha.. whats going.. on?" he asked brokenly, looking around himself slowly. Kaioshin smiled at him. "Hello, Son Trunks. My name is Kaioshin." before another word could be said he stepped forward and pressed one hand to the demi-saiyans shoulder. A moment later and they had gone. A few moments later and the Supreme Kai reappeared on his own. "Good luck, Son Trunks, for you will need it." he murmured to himself.

* * *

Trunks found himself alone in a massive white open space that pressed down on him heavily, while the air was thin and cold. Beside him was some kind of living area, and directly before him embedded in the ground was a thin dark odaichi that the figure he awoke to and that had placed him here had materialized from thin air.

It was made of the densest, more durable metal in the entire universe. And it was incredibly heavy, as he soon discovered. He couldn't even budge the damned thing in base! He soon learned he had to be in a five fold Kaioken minimum just to lift the blade up and barely swing it around.

But he would learn. Once he recovered and discovered the new memories, and so understood why he was here, he would learn. And his anger would soon help him focus.

* * *

**A little over ten months later...**

Trunks swung his sword upward, almost perfectly mimicking Kaioshins movements, and spun it around as though slashing Piccolo in half at the waist. Then he flipped it over to the other hand as he unleashed several ki bursts from the first hand at the ground, clouding up the enemies vision.

From there he left behind an after image and reappeared beside his enemy and drove the sword through the shoulders, straight through where the the bones would be and sending the tip out the other side. That would lock Piccolos arms from being able to move fully.

With that Trunks raised one hand to the air and focused intently. A blade of ki grew to life, erratic and constantly shifting on the edges, yet solid in the middle. He threw himself to the side as though dodging an attack and thrust the ki-blade at the skull.

If it hit, the effect should temporarily stun Piccolo if it wouldn't outright kill him, which would give Trunks enough time to draw his solid blade from the shoulders and slam it into the heart. For obvious reasons he was unable to attempt the motions completely, but he did what he could to train his body and mind to react in the correct patterns.

It was as he finished this last action, slightly sweating and yet not even out of breath yet, that a figure he knew very well showed up. Sometimes his invisible enemy was Piccolo; other times Dr. Gero, but on a fair occasion it was the Kaioshin standing before him.

"Very good, Son Trunks. You have honed your skills and learned from the memories I bestowed upon you splendidly! You are ready at last." Supreme Kai stated. Trunks eyed him warily, on guard. "What, ready to tackle Piccolo? Yeah, I'm ready for that. I'm just as ready to use the same technique against you! You let a few additional memories cross over there, those months ago." Trunks stated flatly.

"My whole life was nothing but a training regiment devised by you after learning my father was crippled. So you implanted the idea in Dr. Geros already twisted brain to bore dad an heir to evolve into the perfect fighting machine. Too bad things didn't quite work out as planned, huh? You could have put a little more effort into making my life pleasant!" Trunks tone had grown angry.

Here at last was the _true_ figure responsible for all the pain and suffering he had gone through. Piccolo was a cause, but Kaioshin had issued the orders for his birth and done nothing to keep Dr. Gero from practically torturing him after wards.

Without quite intending it he flared over into the Pseudo-Super Saiyan state, which he had nearly mastered. He could call it to will nearly every time with focus on his darker emotions or memories, and sometimes it just occurred unconsciously.

Trunks took several deep breaths to try and calm himself again, however. If he attacked the Supreme Kai he may not be freed of this place, which he had explored thoroughly in his months here, and which had no escape for him.

Kaioshin frowned. "Your life was necessary to play out as it did, though I intend to make some corrections in due time." he stated. "I'm sure you do." Trunks murmured softly, but left it at that. "Come on. Get me out of here." he said aloud. Still frowning Kaioshin placed one hand to Trunks shoulder and teleported them back to his own planet.

* * *

Once they reappeared Trunks pulled himself away from Kaioshin, then twisted as his aura amplified in sharpness and slammed the blunt side of his sword to the side of Kaioshins skull. The Supreme Kai only had enough time for his eyes to widen a fraction before he was rendered unconscious and slumped to the ground.

Smiling slightly with a satisfied expression on his face, Trunks allowed his power to fade away and lowered it severely. He laughed at the look of open-mouthed, dumb-founded disbelief etched onto King Kais face. "I don't intend to harm him any further. He deserves more, even if it was all for some greater good, but right now I intend to take care of Piccolo." he said plainly.

Guru smiled thinly across at him. "I can sense you speak honestly, young saiyan. I can take you back to earth once more." he said. King Kai finally managed to speak again. "_DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE_?" he shouted in indignation.

Trunks glanced at him. "Do you realize what he did to _me_?" he shot back, before stabbing his blade to the ground and rolling Kaioshin over onto his back. Trunks began rummaging around in his outfit until he found the tiny capsule he sought. "Once I've taken care of Piccolo... _I've _got some corrections to make."

Guru and Trunks reappeared just outside of the Room of Spirit and Times former entrance. "Thank you for your assistance." he stated seriously. "You are welcome, Son Trunks. May you succeed in your endevour." Guru responded, then returned to Kaioshins planet again.

Trunks narrowed his eyes and focused, then began walking towards the room where Piccolos immense ki was rolling out of while raising his own slowly.

He found Piccolo waiting for him, the skeletons of the defeated hanging above the doorway as a stark reminder of what lay in wait for those who tried to resist him. The Demon King wore his predecessors outfit, with the cape and white weighted upper clothing that accompanied it, though no turban.

An aura of malice rolled off of him, while Trunks exuded confidence. Inwardly he was to some degree worried, anxious for what was to come, yet longing for the time when he didn't have to live with the fate he was dealt so long ago. "... And who do my enemies send against me, but an ant." Piccolo murmured lowly.

"An ant, you say. I heard Frieza likewise taunted his foes. Look at how _he_ turned out." Trunks responded seriously. Piccolos eyes narrowed at the insult as he rose to his feet. With out a word a burst of ki shot from his hand, and in an instant Trunks amplified his power to match it, his sword being drawn and splitting the attack in twain before shooting his ki back down.

As the explosions rocked the area and left craters two levels deep in an inverted V on either side of him, Trunks lowered his sword. "Come on. You don't want to destroy your majestic palace, do you? I'd rather not have to repair it any further after I split your skull in two." he stated confidently, though inwardly he cringed. 'Why am I trying to make him angrier?' he thought.

Piccolo snarled and threw himself forward, bringing two fingers to his forehead for a second then throwing then back down at the unknown enemies heart as a spiraling beam of ki shot from them. Trunks brought his sword to bare again and this time channeled his ki through it, swinging it in an arc that split the Special Beam Cannon in half horizontally and caused it to detonate early. 'Thats why. Less focus, less clarity.'

Without waiting for the smoke cloud to clear Trunks shot backwards and narrowly avoiding a stretched limb punch. He continued out the doorway and watched as Piccolo stretched forward to reach him. With an instant of the ten fold Kaioken Trunks managed to throw himself aside and spinning, slashing through the edge of Piccolos left ribcage before the namekian could pull fully out of the way.

Purple blood spurted from the gash in the couple of seconds it took the wound to heal up. Trunks smirked. 'First blood.' That was a bit much for Piccolo to handle. He growled deep within his throat and vanished, reappearing with his own two fold Kaioken behind Trunks and slammed a spinning kick to the side of his skull.

Trunks world went black for a split second as his body lurched forward dangerously, and Piccolo took advantage of it to back hand Trunks straight up through the remaining floors up into open air, where his body lost momentum and crashed down, rolling nearly to the edge.

Piccolo shot up through the same hole to land several feet away. Trunks spat a mouthful of blood to the ground and pushed up to his feet. "So you finally resorted to Kaioken. Coward." he called over, wiping his mouth off on one sleeve. "Having to resort to techniques you stole from enemies.. figures." he added.

A twin pair of yellow beams shot from Piccolos eyes in response, piercing Trunks right shoulder. Rather than shout or scream in agony as expected, however, Trunks grit his teeth and focused on his power. No longer did he try to conceal it. He flared it to full base and accessed the strength he had learned to control... and the burning red and white aura came to life around his form.

His pupils faded away as a red tinge rushed through his hair, and beneath his clothing his muscles enlarged. His power shot through the roof, surpassing Piccolos own base yet falling short of his current kaioken. Piccolo watched with barely contained fury.

Whoever this foe was, he had been hiding his true strength. And that strength had surpassed his own, originally. A fact that was inexcusable. Raising both hands Piccolo threw out dozen after dozen of spheres of ki, until the sky around them was filled with them. "Now you _die_! Hellzone Grenade!" he shouted, clenching his fists shut. Every single sphere of ki descended on Trunks form, still on his hands and knees and holding onto his sword slightly.

"Kaioken.. times three!" Trunks murmured softly to himself as the aura intensified and his power shot ever higher, easily surpassing Piccolos. He moved so fast his afterimages held afterimages, as his sword drove itself to the hilt through Piccolos chest.

Several other blows landed across the namekians form before he realized he had been penetrated. To Trunks, the ki orbs rushing for him were going at less than half their previous speed, and he quickly raised both hands. "Burning Attack!" he shouted as what seemed like a literial firestorm of ki rose up, three bursts for every sphere.

Piccolos eyes took this information in just after he comprehended the damage to his body. He began to raise a hand to tear the sword free while he began to chant out another level of Kaioken. "Kaio--" was as far as he got before the energy blade pierced his skull from behind, separating the left and right halves of his brain nicely.

Blood erupted from the entry and exit points as Piccolos eyes clouded over and he found his concentration not only divided several times, but seemed to lose all control he held over his body. Trunks stepped around Piccolos form to stop before him, and kick his enemy over onto his back before letting the ki blade fade out.

It took longer then usual for the damage to repair, but once it did, Piccolos power rose instantly. Trunks realized the mistake he had made, but knew it was too late to do anything about it. Slowly the namekian rose to his feet, power flared dramatically.

"You..." he murmured barely above a whisper. "You..." he repeated, head slowly rising as the ground beneath his feet began cracking apart and rising into the air. "_You will suffer a thousand years of hell for the damage you have done_!!" Piccolo roared.

Trunks mentally yelled out the technique but before his power could rise fully Piccolos fist broke his lower jaw, turning the bone to dust with the force of ki rolling behind it. Trunks screamed in pain and his power level dipped back down, allowing Piccolos next two blows to meet with equal devastating damage, erasing his left shin and kneecap.

The demi-saiyan collapsed to the ground, mind-numbing agony racing through his body to his brain. Piccolo panted above him, barely in control of himself, restaining from delivering the final blow so as to let his foe suffer longer. He no longer noticed the blade hanging out of his back.

Through the haze of misery and beginnings of darkness, Trunks could see his life flashing before his eyes in monthly sections, rapidly closing in on the present. It was as such that the presence that delved into his mind found him. 'Arise, Son Trunks. Seal your foe.' Kaioshins voice commanded through King Kai.

Trunks was unable to notice or comply. It was impossible to heal at this distance, even with King Kais help. So Kaioshin did the only thing he could... and took direct possession of the body. With King Kai to block out the pain, and Kaioshin controlling it, Trunks raised his head to stare directly into his enemies eyes.

Burning, ni-uncontrollable wrath stared back into barely concealed righteous determination and fury. 'We can seal him, but the pain will return. Can you withstand it, Son Trunks?' Kaioshins voice asked. Trunks, shunted into the sub-consciousness of his mind, managed to return long enough to answer.

'I know pain. I live with pain. But that.. is beyond either of us.' once more Kaioshin returned. 'So be it.' suddenly Piccolos head snapped back and he raised both hands to it, clutching it in pain, as the agony from before rushing back into full awareness.

Kaioshin reeled from it within Trunks form, as Trunks himself did again when the pain forced Kaioshin into the sub-conscious mind again, and back and forth it went until they were both so consumed by it that for a time, each briefly melded together.

The blazing agony faded, not much, but enough. The combined mental resistance of Kaioshin and Trunks was able to endure without falter. Both of Trunks arms shot out before him as his voice rolled harshly from his tongue, shouting out the name of the technique, "**Eternal Barrier**!!" and slamming the palms together.

Piccolo, struggling against the mental assault of King Kai and Guru as well, was unable to do much more than try and throw himself out of the way. But the split second it took for him to gain enough control for such a move was all it took for the twin half-domes to form and slam shut around him. Just prior the two severed their links to his mind, and in the seconds after wards the pain faded from them as an all-but-exhausted King Kai once again blocked out the physical pain and cut the link Kaioshin was using to connect with Trunks.

* * *

Kaioshin found his mind being slammed back into his body so hard he was rocked off his feet, crashing to the ground with the most painful headache he had ever experienced. King Kai was laying face down in the grass, unable to survive the strains put onto him.

Even Guru was kneeling, eyes closed and a little blood leaking from his ears. Slowly Kaioshin pushed up to his feet wearily and approached, feeling the loss of ki and life from the lesser kaio. He paused and placed one hand to King Kais shoulder. "Your sacrifice has saved us all. Thank you, North Kaio." he murmured softly, and not just because it was respectful, but because he couldn't handle anything loud right now.

He approached Guru next and raised one hand, allowing the white healing glow to awash over his form. Guru did not rise, however. The darkness he had seen in the other namekians mind pained him mentally more so than physically.

"Please, arise, Guru. Son Trunks wounds must be seen to.. I can not heal him as it stands. You were the last I can handle today. Please, bring him to the human Yajirobe." Kaioshin asked quietly. Guru did not open his eyes, though he nodded his head, and after several seconds vanished.

* * *

**Two hours later**

Trunks, repaired from a senzu bean, and carrying the sword that now held Piccolos body and soul sealed within it, stood in the open cockpit of the Time Machine. His mother and Yajirobe stood near the bottom of it. "I'm going to fix all of this. The future shouldn't have turned out like this to begin with. Hopefully I won't have to see you guys again... because it would mean I succeeded if this future ceases to exist altogether." he said wearily.

He was equipped with everything he would need, and he just hoped he could arrive in time to fix things. Yajirobe had given him the remaining senzu as well as a gruff wish to succeed. His mother added her own hopes for his success, though she wasn't as happy about ceasing to exist.

Sliding the hood up over his head and sitting down, Trunks flipped the switch for the cockpit to close and started the engine. Soon enough he would be traveling a long, long time into the past... and hopefully, this time things would turn out right.

* * *

But in another part of the world, the sub-basement housing Cell, the machine clicked off at last. The dark skinned creature emerged from the capsule housing its form and took its first, unneeded breath of air. Hundreds of files waited for him. And very soon he would be emerging into the world and heading for a certain semi-ruined palace, finding himself emerging into a rarely known room, and encounter a Mr. Popo from another time...

* * *

Narrator: The Demon King Piccolo saga at last concludes! But is it a deadly mistake for Trunks to carry around a sword baring an immortal Piccolo? How will the Present Vegetto handle the story his Future son has spun for him? Will Present Piccolo survive? Keep on reading for a preview!!

Trunks finished his explanation. Vegetto opened his closed eyes, a new sense of weariness rolling over him. "You know you have endangered your very existence by telling me this." he stated. Trunks nodded his head. "Yes, I know that. But the future is more important than any single man... aside from you. You must unlock the power of a Super Saiyan! Its the only way you'll ever be able to meet Piccolo in equal combat. Not to mention any other threats that might arise in the near future."

Vegetto laughed lowly at that. "Kaioshin said Goku was on the path to becoming one. I don't believe it. Besides, my ten times Kaioken will be enough to surpass anything Piccolo can throw at me." he stated.

Trunks shook his head. "He's already around the level of ten times kaioken, in base form right now."

Power levels:

Original-timeline:

Piccolo/Demon King: 150'000'000(Recovered base), 350'000'000(Kaioken x2), 500'000'000(Kaioken x3), 750'000'000(Kaioken x4), 900'000'000(Kaioken x5), 150(sealed). Cymbal II: Dead. Drum II: Dead. Dr. Gero: 70'000'000(Full conversion+enhancements), dead. Vegetto: Dead. Super 13: 12'000'000(Rebuilt, design flaw). Teen Trunks(ages 13-14): 3'000'000(last chapter Base), 3'400'000(Zenkai/beginning chapter base), 51'000'000(Pseudo-Super Saiyan), 102'000'000(PSSJ+Kaioken), 10'000'000(potential unleashed base), 50'000'000(Kaioken x5), 12'000'000(O-Sword training), 4'000'000(lowered base), 24'000'000(Kaioken x2 at true base), 120'000'000(Kaioken x10), 180'000'000(PSSJ), 540'000'000(PSSJ+Kaioken x3), 720'000'000(PSSJ+Kaioken x4), 600'000'000(PSSJ+Kaioken x4, damaged), 12'000'000(damaged base end of chapter). Cell: 380'000'000(Inperfect). Yajirobe: 3000. Other Z-Fighters: All dead. Nail(Actual Namekian): Dead. Androids 16-21: All destroyed. Kaioshin(dead): 480'000'000. King Kai: 10'000, dead. Guru: 5'000'000.


	26. Chapter 26

Trunks finished his explanation after nearly an hour and stopped pacing to stare directly at his father again.

Vegetto opened his closed eyes and looked back as a new sense of weariness rolled over him. "You know you have endangered your very existence by telling me all of this." he stated in a flat tone.

Trunks nodded his head. "Yes, I know that. But even if I cease to exist, the cause is worth it. The future is more important than any single man..." he paused to look around at the gathered dragon balls, useless as they currently were, with the hope that his pseudo-elder brother could be revived in several months time.

After a few moments of silence he picked up his previous point. "Aside from you. You must unlock the power of a Super Saiyan! Its the only way you'll ever be able to meet Piccolo in equal combat. Not to mention any other threats that might arise in the near future." he said with more than a hint of passion, seriousness in his voice.

Vegetto considered it and let out a low bark of laughter. "Kaioshin said Goku was on the path to becoming one. I don't believe it. Besides, we should have a few days of time left before he makes his move And even if Piccolo has absorbed Kami, my ten times Kaioken will be enough to surpass anything he can throw at me." he stated.

Trunks shook his head. "He's already around the level of ten times kaioken, once Kami is absorbed." he repeated from near the beginning of the story. Vegetto let out an annoyed grunt and looked up at the stars over head, still not quite sure what to make of the story or if it was even true.

Trunks recognized the expression. His father had worn it often in the future, and he suspected in the later years that it was in doubt to the plan set forth by Kaioshin when he had been around a year old. "You don't believe me? Here." Trunks reached into his pockets and drew out a small capsule.

"In this capsule rests the sword I used to seal Piccolos body and soul. I don't want to use it, in case it might break and undo the power holding him there." he said as he activated the tiny device and held the sleek weapon, its dark black tone streaked in a single violent line of a sickening shade of green

Just holding the hilt, he could feel the jolt to his stomach that came with the rage and fury, the pain and confusion, the malevolent aura that the weapon had attained ever since the sealing process was done. The streak it self suddenly moved sharply, like a bolt of lightning, acros the metal to another angle.

It focused into a swirl on the side facing Vegetto, as though trying to create an eye. The elder saiyan had dropped his gaze down to look at it and now watched with wary attention.

The swirl finally faded into several fragmented streaks across the weapon. "Of course," Trunks began with a grimace, "the emotional response and pain it brings up when I hold it isn't enjoyable either.

* * *

Demon King Piccolos last fleeting images of the outside world were of terrible mental pain, the accursed child shouting with his hands rushing forward. Whatever the technique had been, he was rendered unconscious from it and awoke in this pitch black, seemingly eternity of empty space.

That is to say, _several_ pieces of him.. He was not alone. The aspects that made up his very essence had joined him here, wherever here was, and it was a constant struggle to reabsorb them into the last aspect, "himself". If he lost his attention for very long they simply melted right out of his form to attain their own again, and he was liable to succumb to unconsciousness again.

The first dozen times it had happened, he barely knew what here was. His essence could barely move, to think, and the others.. Kami, Nail, the original aspect of Piccolo Daimou that influenced his actions, the aspect of him that had come to care for Son Gohan...

And then for a brief hour a flare of luminescent, transparent light had swirled into being all around him. That was when he had truly seen just what this place was like; a barren plane of reality where windows existed in the floor beneath his feet, in the walls that seemed to never come yet were always just a few dozen feet away, in the sky so far above his head.

He held no power, practically no strength, but his hunger for vengeance and freedom pushed away the constant weariness that never abated, only being endured and ignored in certain moments of time. Wherever he was, it was close to hell for him.

And in his distraction, thinking about what had occurred yet again, the others melted right out of his form and he was reduced to virtually nothing, the combined product of all aspects yet missing each one of them again.

Sluggishly he rose to his feet and began the long trek after the first and easiest, his adoration of Son Gohan, before the light was gone.

* * *

It felt like a year. Perhaps it_ had _been that long. All he knew was a wan, barely visible light appeared all around him at long last. That would make recollecting the aspects of his being easier, though he seemed to be drawn to them naturally in the dark anyway, which he had finally realized, for they had no ki individually to sense as he had originally believed to be the cause.

The first thing he saw was something he had not seen for over a decade. He almost didn't believe it. How could it be possible? Yet there he was. _Vegetto_. Healthy looking, younger than he should be. He could not hear, but he could see all around him, and he quickly rushed to the side where his enemy stood. It took him an hour before he could get near enough for the saiyan to appear any closer.

Whatever occurred took place over the course of a day or two, and in that time he tried to understand how this was happening, what had been done to him. His concentration nearly lapsed several times and he was forced into another struggle to remain whole.

But eventually he succumbed to exhaustion and broke apart again. And when he next awoke, he was surrounded by darkness again.

* * *

Vegetto held the weapon and he, too, could feel something from it. Not nearly as strong as the demi-saiyan across from him has spoken of a few moments before. His anger at his own failure, his own stubborn _pride_, was the most amplified. Guilt, too, increased. He shuddered but did not try to deny them, for it was his fault Gohan was now dead!

After several seconds he stabbed the weapon into the ground and slowly felt the influence of it fade away. "... You made your point." he stated flatly. "Piccolo is going to suffer _dearly_." turning away from Trunks Vegetto rose into the air. "Wait!" Trunks called after him, but his father had already shot off. "Damn it!"

Tearing the odaichi free he returned it to the capsule, made one last double check to ensure he had likewise capsulized the Time Machine, then concentrated and restored his power to full in base. With that done he shouted out "Kaioken x2!" and kicked off from the desert sands so hard a wave rose up fifty feet.

"I won't let you get yourself killed fighting him!" Trunks muttered to himself as he shot after his father.

* * *

High above in the Lookout, Kaioshin broke from his deep thoughts and turned to face the ground below with a frown. 'Who is this?' he asked himself as his eyes scanned the earth. He quickly discovered Vegetto rushing for this very location, and rapidly catching up a dark haired and serious youth surrounded by the unmistakable aura of the kaioken.

Whoever it was did not look like one of Coolas men, especially when he caught up and suddenly blocked Vegettos path and a dark, furry tail was revealed. 'Another saiyan? Impossible. The only survivors were employed in Friezas service, and those here on earth. Did Coola clone one?' that line of thought, combined with the power being displayed, was enough to convince him that the saiyan below was not a friend.

He vanished a moment later with a teleport.

* * *

"If you fight him like this, you'll die! I know you want to avenge Gohan, but you can't do this!" Trunks argued. Vegetto watched him silently. "Move." he ordered sharply. Trunks eyebrows rose. "Do you think just ordering me would work? I saw you die, father! I'm not about to go through that again!" Trunks stated fiercely.

Vegettos eyes narrowed. "I want Piccolo to die as well, but if you charge in he's liable to tear you apart! You haven't even seen his fighting style or techniques!" Trunks added. His father silently agreed on that point, the side that had been Goku noting it.

The side that had been Vegeta, however, simply wanted to rush in and let the results be damned! He had enough power to gain a thirty or so million advantage, so what was this Trunks so worried about??

Before either could say anything more Kaioshin reappeared. A strong malevolent presence was given off at this close a range and the Supreme Kais face hardened. With a low shout his eyes narrowed and a Kiai crashed into Trunks left shoulder, for the demi-saiyan had sense the massive ki that suddenly appeared behind him and spun to confront it.

In that same instant he mentally screamed out 'Kaioken times ten!', and it was all that protected him from being torn apart. His body was flung end over end, blood trailing in the air from flesh being shredded, and a low growl escaped from his throat. He continued like that for a dozen feet before he could gain control and raise his other hand to his bleeding shoulder to try and staunch the bleeding.

Kaioshin reappeared at his side and aimed a punch that would have crushed Trunks chest cavity in had it not been for the pair of hands that caught the blow in time, each giving off a burning red and white aura. The force knocked Vegetto back into his future son and cracked several bones in the left hand, tearing through the skin the process with a spray of blood that coated his face.

Kaioshins eyebrows met in surprise and confusion and he slowly lowered his hand, though he probed the elder saiyans mind to make sure he wasn't being controlled at the same time. Vegetto winched from the pain in his hands and the mental attack and snapped "Get out of my head, you miserable bastard!" apparently his opinion of the god had been further lowered after Trunks story.

'His attitude, if nothing else, remains the same.' the Supreme Kai thought in annoyance. With the immediate threat taken care of, Vegetto let his twenty times kaioken fade and carefully lowered his own hands, glaring down at the stark white and crimson coated mess jutting out.

It took a fair amount of effort not to grind his teeth in pain. But he managed not to because if nothing else, he was not about to be shamed before his future son in such a matter when compared to the damage Trunks had been through, especially in the last day alone.

Trunks hadn't expected his father to protect him, not after the way they had just been arguing, but it left him with a sense of pride and shame; pride in Vegetto, to move so swiftly to defend a son he had just met, and shame in himself for not being better prepared for such a blow.

Kaioshin gave the damage a once over and said "It would be better for you to snap the bones back into place. I can heal them as they are, but you would experience the same pain of them breaking twice as worse. It is far easier to heal lost limbs or holes." he stated in a calm tone, even though his thoughts were swirling.

'Whoever the other saiyan is, he must have earned Vegettos trust, but he won't earn mine so easily. His presence is only a fraction of Buus, but a fraction more than I care to be reminded of again.' he thought darkly. 'No saiyan working for the Cold Empire could be trusted.. not even Bardock.'

* * *

Far and away on the Lookout, the former tyrant known as Frieza lay helpless on the floor. His enemies had abandoned him here, as though he were unworthy of even keeping watch over. It was one further 'grinding your face into dust beneath my heel' maneuver by them, and what little remained of his ego was indeed practically erased by it.

"How did **I**, the heir of the Cold Empire, be reduced to _this_? How is such a thing possible? Have the very cosmos them self judged me unworthy and passed this fate, to humble and break the mighty Frieza?" he asked in a tone of disbelief.

His face slowly screwed up in anger. "Then when I regain my full power, I will ensure they, too, suffer for this sham! This mockery! I will avenge myself some day!" he shouted in fury at the stars over head. Panting afterward, he rolled over onto his side and allowed his attention to drift to the months prior.

* * *

**Four-three months ago, on the way back from Namek**

When he first awoke, Frieza was miserable. The pain of his missing limbs tormented him, but the most grievous wound had been to his pride. He, Frieza, defeated at the hands of a lowly saiyan? It was unthinkable. It was impossible!

And yet it had occurred. He had never been so damaged in his life, for not even his brother Coola dared take a limb for reward in their rare encounters when he won, which increased as the elder changeling created his fifth form. It was always a mocking tone of voice and a sharp word or ten to insult Friezas ego, his pride, before Coola would limp off to his own ship and rejuvenation chamber.

He had been humbled once or twice by the first encounters with his stronger family members in this way, but that went away quickly to be replaced with burning rage over such a loss in the first place!

But he would not be humbled by this defeat. He would somehow escape and find his way back to the Cold Empire, and once he was repaired, he would wipe out every last trace of this saiyan, his spawn and friends, the earth, and so help him the false deity that began all of this!

* * *

But his ambition to do such a thing encountered its first road block a few days into things. He had sworn to kill the saiyan and all he held dear in due time to his face, but had been laughed off, called a nothing, lower than an ant now. "Even in your greatest form, Frieza, you were no match for me. You were certainly no match for _him_." Vegetto taunted, pointing over one shoulder to Kaioshin who was looking out into space silently.

Frieza snarled. Vegetto, smirking, leaned in close. "I'm over seventy times stronger than you are right now, fallen tyrant. And you won't ever get near the power you used to hold so recklessly again. Keep the threats up and I'll reduce you to a punching bag." he threatened, though he still wore a smile, as though saying _And even if you did return to your old strength, I'm STILL strong enough to beat you._

_

* * *

_

A month had passed. They were close enough to earth to have returned by now, but kept circling back around to Pluto and back for extra training time. The accursed saiyans spawn was growing in strength rapidly and using him as a punching bag, just as he had been warned would happen.

This, obviously, did nothing to bring Friezas anger and call for vengeance in his heart down. If anything it increased his urges. But something felt.. wrong about them. Every time he felt a particularly strong bout of wrath, a lesser pang of... regret, as best he could identify it, for he had never honestly felt such an emotion in his adult or teenage life, that feeling would rush through his mind.

He did not understand how or why this was occurring now, after so many years. He could not know that Kaioshin had been subtly laying mental attachments-- chains, really--, to his stronger emotions through the murky realm of the subconscious mind. One feeling would indirectly bring up another lesser emotion to counter act it.

Even still the so called Supreme Kai continued to call for Friezas death. Soon enough Friezas anger would be redirected to a new source, even though he would not realize that deep within himself, the indirect emotions were gaining sway, truly forming attachments to his personality, however weak they were and would be for months to come.

* * *

**Present**

Having healed both saiyans and been informed of Trunks story in quick, brief details, Kaioshin found himself doubting the story was true along the way. But how else had this mysterious youth shown up on earth? He hadn't been detected by any one earlier on, and surely Vegetto and Son Gohan would have felt or seen him on the way to deal with Coola and King Kold?

He had investigated the demi-saiyans mind-- only barely, after the first time he was immediately sensed and told to get the hell out-- for truth. Soon enough it was far easier just to read his emotions then his mind at all, and he did this instead.

In the end, when he had held the capsule baring the sword with the Demon Kings body and soul sealed within it, he came to realize the malevolent presence was indeed flowing from it, as though tainting anyone who held it. With a frown he activated it and beheld the odaichi, running his fingers along its surface and the poisonous green mark.

His face became hard as it touched the mark and after ten seconds he looked up at them. "His consciousness is here, if nothing else. Fragmented, broken into many facets, but here. Probing his mind is... painful, difficult, murky even. The power you used to seal him was effective, but the true strength of it comes from being spoken in my own natural tongue, much like a namekian must speak to the dragon of namek to use wishes." he paused, considering things.

"If I had sealed him away, the chances of him breaking free, even if this sword was shattered, would be impossible. But by speaking it in your own language, the strength was cut in half, if not more. A single scratch along its surface would be like opening a doorway to him. I do not advise you to hold onto this weapon any further, Son Trunks, but allow me to seal it away on my own planet." Kaioshin stated gravely.

Trunks eyed the weapon and the Supreme Kai darkly. "I'd just as rather hold onto it than entrust it to you. You weren't the best adviser in my time." he stated flatly in turn.

Kaioshin let out an aggrieved sigh. "You saiyans are a haughty race! Do you not understand that their are beings higher than yourself for a valid reason? I assume my counterpart was doing all in his power to establish peace and handle the Demon King at the same time!" he snapped in annoyance.

Trunks, however, was not about to accept such a response, perhaps he would have if it was another Kaioshin or even just a basic Kaio, but not from this particular Supreme Kai. "Your track record isn't so grand, _your highness!_ You screwed the pooch on Namek, and it was only through Friezas complete and total arrogance and lack of ki sensing ability that my father was born at all!" he retorted sharply.

"You got yourself killed fighting Piccolo in the future, managed to wrangle Guru-- _GURU!_ -- away from Namek, and have him restore the Dragon Balls on your own planet, and what do you do? You ignore them?? You don't use them to revive yourself, drag my father to your planet to restore him, and make him just as immortal and powerful as Piccolo!!"

"You came up with and implanted the idea in the piece of trash Dr. Geros mind to use my father to create a half-and-half child to be trained day in and day out-- what, did you want revenge on him for never giving you any respect? Is that what it all boiled down to? The lowly mortal isn't respecting the great deity, let me vent my divine wrath down on him through his fellow mortal--" Trunks had plenty more to rant about as he at last spoke his mind to the pseudo-person responsible for his misery, but he fell silent as Kaioshin focused his entire ki to wash across the direct area.

The effect, though lesser than it had been on Ginyu, won Trunks silence. "_Do not dare to judge me, demi-saiyan, nor my actions, based on those of my potential counter-part. I have done what I deemed best for the universe in the time I have had, I have endured your fathers constant belittling and disrespect for the greater good, but I will not tolerate such impudence from any other being. Dead, or alive_." he spoke softly, though his eyes were burning with anger.

Breathing deeply through his nostrils, Kaioshin turned away and paced the air, closing his eyes as he held the weapon tightly, almost tight enough to crack the hilt... before suddenly vanishing.

* * *

On his own planet again, Kaioshin approached the place where the sacred Z-Sword rested. He slammed the odaichi straight down through the soil to the hilt, then tore the weapon beside it free and visualized his original enemy, the child-like form of Buu, before him.

He proceeded to spend the next several hours practicing the moves described to him by Son Trunks, as best he was able, for the weight of the Z-Sword was exceedingly heavy compared to even the odaichis own. Soon enough his mind had calmed however, and though he was exhausted-- even after healing himself once an hour--, he was able to think about both what, and the reasons behind, his future counter-part had done.

But even after he had spent some time on that, the bigger problem kept popping up and interrupting his thoughts. _The balance_. Dai Kaioshin was the only one that truly understood it, but he had warned them in the time before Buu struck, that the universe had a way of ensuring things occurred in a very certain way.

If events were changed or altered, it was likely something worse than before would happen to make up for it. 'By averting the crisis of Piccolo, have we doomed ourselves of a far greater foe? Will Buu himself be awoken now to make up for it?' he thought.

* * *

Narrator: Is this 'balance' responsible for Cells creation and arrival? Or is Kaioshin merely believing an ancient myth? Will Vegetto and Trunks take on Piccolo together-- or separately, the stubborn saiyan pride interfering again?! When will Cell arive? Keep on reading for the preview!

Within the palace of the Lookout, in the rarely entered Pendulum room, a tall and sleek form emerged. Behind him the faint echoes of a planets dying moments reached forth in a vain attempt to consume him, as well, yet falling short. He purposefully had lowered his power the moment he appeared, to keep his foes from realizing he was here yet.

The biggest threat to him was Kaioshin. But even if his... brother, he supposed, could amplify his power with Kaioken, so too could he, Cell. Such a match would be futile, and best if the actual Supreme Kai kept out of it altogether. After all, now there were two Supreme Kais again, and he would dislike slaying his fellow brethren.

Vegetto: 14'750'000(Base), 294'000'000(Kaioken x20) Kaioshin: 523'000'000. Son Gohan: Dead. Piccolo/Demon King: 1'600'000(Concealed). Frieza(Current first form): 200'000. Teen Trunks: 4'000'000(concealed)/15'000'000(Zenkai, base), 150'000'000(Kaioken x10).


	27. Chapter 27

In the time that Kaioshin spent both getting his anger under control and training for the years ahead, Vegetto and Trunks finally reached an agreement.

They would track down Piccolo together, but only one would fight the namekian. Once Piccolo was dead Trunks intended to return to the future and see if things had been changed at all, and even though he hoped they would, a dread lurked in his heart that things would stay the same...

Vegettos voice drew him out of such thoughts before he could go any deeper. "We can be sure if Kamis gone rather easily." he said after they had confirmed how to handle the situation, sensing for the aged namekians power level. After several moments he frowned. "Damn." he exclaimed sofly before shaking his head.

"Looks like he struck earlier than you thought." Vegetto stated. Trunks cursed sharply, but was taken aback as his father began smirking at the corner of his lips. "Ever since Goku and Vegeta fused, I haven't had much of a serious fight. Frieza was a push over, and the rest of his family was wiped out just as easily." Vegetto glanced over at his second son.

"You might not understand it, Trunks, but we're the last of our race, the three of us including Gohan." he paused a moment to consider his first born and shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. "Pureblooded Saiyans were a warring race. Its what we are at heart, fighting and killing.. the bloodlust it draws out only encourages us to fight harder." Trunks eyed him curiously, wondering what that had to do with things.

"Your Saiyan bloodlust is reduced to a more rational and controllable level by the human blood, but for me with twice as much of it flowing through my body..." as he paused his eyes lit up with a certain, almost malicious light. "Right now its calling strongly to be satisfied with Piccolos very, very brutal death."

Smirking fully now he turned away from Trunks and looked in the direction of the Lookout. "If I win the roshambo match to face him, don't interfere in any way, no matter how foolish any decision I make in that battle may look to you." he added in a more serious tone.

"... you already know I'd be lying if I agreed to that." Trunks stated flatly. Vegetto shrugged. "Then lie. And if you happen to get caught in between our attacks..." he trailed off dangerously, but glanced at him with a smile afterward. "Don't worry. I know when to let it control me and when to control it. I won't die." he added in his old confident tone.

Trunks expression, having become serious, relaxed a little save for around the eyes. "Don't forget I watched you die not that long ago for me. _And_ I have the higher power up over you. If I catch an attack to save your over assuming life, well, I doubt it would do me much harm." he responded in his own tone of confidence. On the inside, he was questioning why he had said that. It was like that taunt against Piccolo during the beginning of their encounter; slipping out before he can stop it.

Vegetto let out a sharp bark of laughter, then shook his head. "For now." he said simply, as though meaning the power tier would change up soon enough. And perhaps now it truly would, as at last Vegetto had found a motivation to start training. Kaioshin and his threat of Buu? Pft. Surpassing his future son? Now _that_ was worth striving for.

* * *

Up in the Lookout, Piccolo paced back and forth, lost in thought. 'Who is this new power level, capable of amplifying his power so easily, so rapidly? Is he truly confronting that _damned saiyan_ and _kaioshin_?' Shortly there after he let out a low exhalation of breath as the Supreme Kais ki vanished altogether.

And seeing as the other two remained, he allowed himself to briefly entertain the notion that they had somehow killed him. After all, even such a simple tactic as blinding the foe with a Taiyoken and following it up with the Kienzan technique could prove deadly on an unprepared enemy.

'But no. I can not allow myself to hope for such, not so easily. Fate does not allow such enemies to be dealt with so easily.' he thought darkly, glancing up at the ceiling overhead as though seeing the heavens and 'fate' it self. His expression, already grim, soured further.

"I have Kamis added intelligence now. _Think_, damn you, why would the kaioshin leave the earth? What presence could call him away?" as he demanded of him self an answer to his question, a faint echo of the word '"Buu"' came to mind. 'Boo? No.. Buu. The nightmare lurking in our supposed futures.' he thought slowly with a frown.

'It is possible such a being could have been located. Are there _more_ kaioshin watching from above??' that thought was indeed an alarming one. If more of his enemies existed, especially as strong as the current one he knew of, then what hope did his plan even have to succeed? Perhaps even now he knew that Kami was no more!

For several moments Piccolo paced back and forth, pondering that question intensely, before another answer came to him with another echo of thought. 'That kaio made contact with Kami months ago to warn him of the Supreme Kais impending arrival. He had said _the_, not _a_, Supreme Kais impending arrival. Surely a kaio who recognized my enemy so easily would realize if there existed more of them.' having worked that problem out his thoughts again turned to why Kaioshin had left.

'If he vanished to confront Buu, he should have left some kind of warning, some kind of message behind for _Vegetto_.' even thinking the saiyans name infuriated Piccolo. He was very tempted to allow his rage to be let out now, but the rational sense of mind from Kami convinced him to wait, to reign it in and keep on holding it back for the fight in the days ahead. If only he knew that he did not have days, but mere hours, to prepare for that encounter.

* * *

Vegetto and Trunks arrived faster than expected, within twenty minutes. On the way they had played three rounds of Roshambo to confirm just who would fight Piccolo, much to Trunks distaste. While he did prefer this form of his fathers personality to the one he had grown up with, it still felt.. strangely off.

They landed in silence and began the walk towards where the namekian was. It didn't take long to find him, dwelling not far from the Room of Spirit and Time. He looked Trunks over and noticed the degree of resemblance between the two, but the dark furry tail that rolled out from behind him cemented the fact that it was a saiyan.

Trunks expression darkened but he made no move; this_ was _his fathers fight. "Well, it took you long enough to realize what was needed, Piccolo." Vegetto stated with a hint of excitement belaying his voice. Piccolos growled softly, but didn't attack yet, waiting to hear what the saiyan was going to say.

"When I couldn't feel Kamis presence, I almost wondered if he died. But then I felt _yours_ still here. I immediately understood you two had... _fused_. Just as Vegeta and Goku once did. That age old conclusion to the fight between Goku and _Demon King Piccolo_ can finally be fought out as Goku had hoped when leaving for Namek, because now I won't _destroy you _with a _single blow_." his voice reaked of confidence.

Piccolo barely kept his control at the word fused. The saiyan was treading in very, very dangerous territory with every word thereafter. But when he mentioned the seemingly ancient fight between himself and Goku, warning sirens began going off. The tone his voice seemed to dip into on some words was also a warning, as though... he knew something.

And then it began falling into place, or so he thought. That kaio, King Kai-- if that was indeed who the kaioshin had watching the worlds for Buu-- might have also been watching the earth. And if so, then Piccolos attack against Kami would have been seen and relaid.

And if that was done, then the kaioshin would have read his mind and realized what he intended to do. Obviously that information was relaid to Vegetto! And yet... who was the mysterious saiyan that had showed up out of seemingly no where? A slumbering remnant of Friezas would-be rescuers, somehow awoken hours after the encounter was over and done with?

Perhaps that was what Kaioshin had been doing. The new comer intended to fight, but was threatened into submission by the overwhelming display of strength shown to him by the duo...

With the unknowingly wrong information set, Piccolo understood that he would be unleashing that pent up rage sooner than expected. Snarling, he amped his true power up to full, the charade no longer needed. "Damn you, Kaioshin!" he roared and threw himself forward.

Trunks nearly attacked but managed to hold himself back, then shoot off out of the way as Vegetto, smiling in a taunting sort of manner, called out "Kaioken times eight!" the red and white tainted firey aura burst into life around him as his muscles bulged out sharply, considering how condensed and compact they had been since fusion.

His hands caught the namekians in an almost crushing grip, as despite the slim power difference it was still enough to give a minute advantage to the saiyan. "So tell me, Piccolo, what gave it away?" he asked, then continued right through with out waiting.

"Was it Trunks presence? Or Kaioshins lack of one? Perhaps your old ambition outbid your newly gained smarter intellect; no doubt Kamis brains certainly raised _those _sharply." he taunted, still smiling but now a little more genuine as their fingers attempted to crush one another, veins standing out sharply just beneath the knuckles and the back of the hands.

Piccolo growled and skull bashed the saiyan, a move unexpected from him. Vegettos grip slackened for a moment before he could recover, but that moment was all it took Piccolo to tear his own hands free and slam them against the saiyans chest.

A white glow outlined them as the ki orbs usually generated met contact as they were formed. Rather than fully form the energy was pushed forward into the flesh of the namekians enemy. Vegetto shook his head and twisted away from the hands, kicking out at the namekians head with his left foot even as Piccolo attempted to pull away.

The edge of the saiyans foot crashed into Piccolos forehead and swept partially across it, ripping his left antenna off in a small spray of dark purple blood and the sound of flesh tearing. Piccolo growled and his eyes narrowed, but he kept his control and began sending out ki orb after ki orb around them.

Following through with the previous kick, Vegetto planted his left to the ground and thrust his right forward, chanting rapidly if softly to himself "Kamehame... hah!" from his right boot an orange glow began forming on the tip and suddenly shot forward at the namekians chest.

Piccolo twisted backwards in a vain attempt avoid it even as he clenched his hands shut tightly. The beam bore a hole through the left shoulder, charring the flesh around it to black and cauterizing it so no blood could gush out, but the arm was left dangling by a few stray fragments of skin.

Even as he howled in pain the noise was dwarfed by his Hellzone Grenades multiple detonations.

The explosion of each orb, while not wholly unexpected to Vegetto thanks to Trunks descriptions, left out a new detail; the energy pushed into his chest also blew up. A shower of red blood rained down on Piccolos lower torso and legs as fragments of bone jutted out of Vegettos upper rib cage and chest cavity.

The shear pain of it briefly blanked the saiyans mind of all other things and he collapsed to one knee, staring down at the wounds. After two seconds he roared in agony, as blood continued to drip down from the stark white extrusions.

* * *

A ways off, Trunks growled lowly to himself. He knew it. He absolutely _knew it._ His father was treating the battle in the wrong perspective. Bloodlust be damned, if this got much worse, he _would_ step in with the Pseudo Super Saiyan transformation and proceed to kill Piccolo him self.

He wasn't worried about the consequences of his actions. He'd rather be scolded by his father than stand by and watch him die again!

* * *

The low _snkit_ of recovery filled the air over Vegettos soon-turned-to growls, and he watched through the red haze of pain as the damage dealt to Piccolo was recovered in mere seconds. Rage burned in the namekians eyes, and even through that he could feel how their power levels had shifted. Now HE was the stronger of the two, not the saiyan.

Tilting his neck to one side and then the other, several cracks filled the air, followed by almost a dozen more as he flexed his fingers and brought two up to his forehead. Ki burned to life at the finger tips and he thrust his arm down and out, growling "Special Beam Cannon!"

The spiraling beam shot out and came at Vegetto. He managed to raise one hand and catch it, but the skin began rapidly heating up and burning. His eyes narrowed as the new pain managed to get him to focus. "I won't... die against you! I refuse.. to die.. like this_ again_!!" Vegetto snarled, managing to bring raise his other hand out to the side.

"_Galic_.." he paused, panting, and mentally cried out 'Kaioken times.. ten!' the aura intensified again as he continued. "_'guuuuun_!!" he shouted, though even as the purple and white ki began forming and was thrown at the enemy, the saiyans skin grew paler from blood loss.

Piccolo drew one arm back to slap the attack aside but failed to recognize the shear strength behind it in the second it took to arrive. It drove through the elbow and exploded in a shower of gore, fragments of bone, muscle, blood and flesh raining down on the two and the small distance between them.

Piccolo would have cried out in pain if not for the fact that his face was scorched and melted off by the heat, oozing down to drip onto the floor with several brief splats, and his throat partially torn open by pieces of his own bones. His jaw fell open as he tumbled backwards against a wall, eyes melted away.

The regeneration would be slower, or so Vegetto hoped, as the attack burning through his hand faded in intensity and he was able to throw it out to the side. When he lowered his hand, the flesh that remained was blackened and in several places the bone itself had broken through, though it too was scorched to a paler shade of black.

The agony it and his chest inflicted on Vegetto was pushing him towards a state of unconsciousness, and the blood loss wasn't helping. He_ had to do something _about the bone sticking out of his chest and the resultant hole therein.

Raising his good hand, he focused his ki into it and, grimacing, smashed the first piece of rib back into place. His mind whited out again for an instant and he woke up on the floor in a deeper pool of blood. 'I'm dying.' he realized sluggishly. 'How..?' he intended to ask himself how was this possible, but it wouldn't come. Thinking was becoming hard.

Across from him Piccolo was regenerating his losses. He struggled up to his knees, leaning back as far as he dared so as to keep any more blood from gushing out.

* * *

Deeper within the palace of the Lookout, in the rarely entered Pendulum room, a tall and sleek form emerged. Behind him the faint echoes of a planets dying moments reached forth in a vain attempt to consume him as well, yet falling short. He purposefully had lowered his power the moment before he stepped through into the past, to keep his foes from realizing he was here yet.

The biggest threat to him was Kaioshin. But even if his... brother, he supposed, could amplify his power with Kaioken, so too could he, Cell. Such a match would be futile, and best if the natural Supreme Kai kept out of it altogether. After all, now there were two Supreme Kais again, and he would dislike having to slay his fellow brethren.

'Henh.. arrogance doesn't befit me, but then again, it doesn't befit_ him _either.' Cell thought, smirking a bit.

Focusing his attention onto said Kaioshins power level, he quickly found it to be off planet. A moment later and he felt the battle raging on below. He smiled dangerously and said "Most excellent. I hadn't expected Son Trunks to have survived, but if he has arrived here in the past... then both saiyans can pay for what has been wrought. Dr. Gero will be avenged." he swore seriously.

He turned his attention away from the fight back to Kaioshin and vanished with instant teleportation. No one around him noticed the faint ki that appeared for a few moments.

* * *

He did not feel the power level of his future son arrive at his side, digging the last senzu bean he held out and quite literally forcing it down his fathers throat.

The damage to his body began recovering, as somehow the bones were tugged back into place seemingly of there own accord. The hole left where they pieced his flesh too much was gone, and his skin returned to its natural shade. Vegetto blinked once as the fog in his mind faded away.

"Will you _please_ fight him seriously now!?" Trunks demanded. His eyes were narrowed and his power level rapidly rising and falling, as he fought to control his emotions and keep himself from tearing this Piccolo limb from bloody limbs. A ki blade hung in his spare hand, the outline fading between solid and more mist like.

"_Too late_!" Piccolos voice growled, as he fully recovered and threw out two Special Beam Cannons. Trunks hair flared to a tint of red as he almost instantly entered the Pseudo Super Saiyan state, the burning aura igniting around him and his muscles increasing.

Using his ki blade in a sweeping arch before him Trunks cut into and detonated the attacks ahead of the targets. But before he could launch forward Vegettos left hand grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him back sharply.

"Hold it." the elder saiyan demanded. Glancing at his son with a briefly unreadable expression, he turned to face Piccolo and murmured "Kaioken times four." after his power level shot up ward, Vegetto vanished and reappeared in front of the namekian.

Piccolo himself couldn't believe his attack was destroyed so easily, though he now loathed the new saiyan for saving his enemy's life. It came as a surprise, therefore, when a mere four times kaioken allowed Vegetto to out speed his sight and drive one arm through his stomach and up into his chest with a sickening _squelch_.

The other hand came up and took a hold of the namekian by the throat, cutting off his growling. Vegetto stared into Piccolos eyes for a moment before chanting "Big Bang Kamehame.." he waited until Piccolos eyes widened a fraction before finishing the attacks name, a brief malicious light returning to his own, "Ha!"

At both sections the energy orbs grew to life, tearing through his body to meet. The namekian was torn open from the throat to the stomach, purple blood and green flesh exploding outward to coat Vegettos face and chest. Once the two attacks met and merged, they detonated as contact had already been established.

He raised his arms in front of his face in time to protect himself from any backlash of damage from the explosion, but Piccolo was unable to do anything about it as his body exploded into a hundred, if not nearly thousand, minuscule pieces that were almost instantly vaporized in the process.

What remained of his skull and the first few vertebrae of his spine crashed to the floor and nearly cracked open. Trunks let out a low sigh of relief and allowed his form to fade away to base, walking forward with the intent to crush Piccolos remnants into dust.

What stopped him was his fathers hand catching the boot in time. "No." he stated. "This isn't your fight." he told Trunks, leaning down and pressing one hand to the namekians skull. A low glow of white ki began forming there. After several seconds it sunk into the skull and the faint, barely surviving ki increased rapidly.

Trunks eyes widened in alarm but Vegetto dragged him away. "Don't ask me why I just spared his life. I don't understand. Maybe its a left over of Gokus personality, sparing every enemy he met if possible. He's no threat to us, not between you, me, and Kaioshin." he said seriously.

"Maybe not _now_--" Trunks began in anger, unable to believe Vegetto would not only spare Piccolo-- but to give him enough ki to recover? "He'll never become the demon king again. The only way he grew so powerful was because of the kaioken and lack of Kaioshin to handle him." Vegetto interrupted.

Trunks fell into silence at that. He _knew_ this was a mistake. Behind them Piccolos form was already regenerating. ".. If I was Vegeta, I would resent what you did to save me. If I was Goku, I'd be thankful. Trunks.." he turned to face his future son and, after a pause, slapped him upside the head. "Thank you, but don't do it again." he said with a hint of his previous confidence returning, and he smirked. It felt _good_ to be just fine again!

Trunks rubbed the sore spot and muttered an "Ouch. Point taken.", though inwardly he was surprised and a little glad nothing worse had occurred.

* * *

Kaioshin finished his sword maneuver and came face to face with a creature he had never before seen. Cell smiled thinly. "Hello.. brother." he stated. Kaioshins eyebrows met and he leveled the sword at Cell. "Brother? I have never seen you before, creature." Kaioshin responded flatly.

'Is this the balance taking course?' he questioned silently. Cell shrugged. "Of course you haven't. This is our first time meeting, from one Supreme Kai to another." he said with a frown, wondering just how intelligent the other was. "You aren't a Supreme Kai. The only way you could have been one.. is to have fallen before I was born." Kaioshin stated.

Cell sighed. "Not quite. But if you want to know the full truth... I was born only fifteen years ago. Or would you prefer the term conceived? It doesn't matter in the long run, because I _do _have your cells, your blood, your DNA within me. And_ that_, my brother, makes us of the same race." he responded.

"No more will you be the last of the dying race of Kaioshins. No more will you have to watch over and protect the universe alone. Now you have another at your side, willing to help--" Cells speech was cut short, even though he spoke with honesty. "_Silence, creature_." Kaioshin demanded.

"Your name is Cell, is it not? Then you would have arrived from the future. You claim to have my DNA and blood.. a clone, yet twisted and merged with the DNA of many other races. Diluting the divine blood of a Kaioshin with that of the mortals below.. a crime unforgivable." he stated, raising the Z-Sword.

"I was wrong; you aren't the balances way of correcting things. You're just a monster." teleporting forward Kaioshin found the blade in his hand caught by Cells own, just cutting slighting into the flesh of the other being, yet otherwise halted by a power level nearly four fifths above Kaioshins own.

Cells face was relatively calm for the insults thrown at him, though his eyes were narrowed. "I see you wished to do this the hard way. Very well. As the hierarchy of Kaioshin were proclaimed by strength... that would make me the Dai Kaioshin. And I expel you from this world."

Whatever cosmic forces existed apparently took Cells orders at face value. Kaioshin found himself hurtling through Other World to crash into the checkin station, his grip on the Z-Sword lost.

* * *

Narrator: Cell, approved as a Dai Kaioshin? What kind of joke is fate playing at? Or was it merely another branch of Cells abilities, hidden behind bold words, a simple Kiai of overwhelming strength? What does Cell truly intend to do as a Supreme Kai, beside exact divine revenge onto the mortals that wronged his creator? And if he acts out over such a thing, what hope does the universes people as a whole have? No preview this week.

Vegetto: 14'750'000(Base), 118'000'000(Kaioken x8), 87'200'000(damaged Kaioken x8), 109'000'000(Kaioken x10), 25'000'000(Zenkai, base), 125'000'000(Kaioken x5), 5'000'000(weakened base). Kaioshin: 523'000'000. Son Gohan: Dead. Piccolo/Demon King: 1'600'000(Concealed), 112'000'000(True base), 104'000'000-98'000'000-50'000'000-2000(damages), 20'000'000(spare ki). Frieza(Current first form): 200'000. Teen Trunks: 4'000'000(concealed)/15'000'000(Zenkai, base), 150'000'000(Kaioken x10), 225'000'000(Pseudo-Super Saiyan). Cell: 5(concealed), 900'000'000(true base)


	28. Chapter 28

Cells form moved beyond Kaioshins ability to comprehend as he finished his statement, eyes narrowing as he almost silently forced a kiai to form and crash into the other Supreme Kais body from point-blank range. At the same instant with his other hand he knocked the Z-Sword out of the others hand, using the point of contact to initiate a teleport and send them across Other World to the Check In station.

Knowing that his fellow Supreme Kai would only get up and repair himself, Cell warped behind his back a dozen feet and waited until the moment was right to twist and drive his right heel into the now-soaring-backwards Kaioshins spine as the previous kiai's momentum took effect. A sickening crack filled the area as the vertebrae was broken in two and he slumped to the ground, paralyzed but alive.

"I did not wish to harm you, my brother, but you left me no choice. You will not interfere in the path of divine justice." Cell stated in a soft tone of disappointment. "Someday, perhaps, you will come to see things as I do. But until then... you will not be allowed to move from this place." he added and leaned down to pick Kaioshin up by the arms.

The cloud-like spirits that were around quickly parted way before him as Cell walked inside and strode up to King Yenmas desk. "Hm?" the ogre asked at the silence that had fallen, apparently otherwise oblivious to what was going on as he read through the logbook on his desk of all the souls arriving before him.

With no answer he glanced up and saw the two figures before his desk. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded in irritation. Cell tilted his head downward to stare into the lesser mortals eyes and allowed his ki to flare to its full capacity. The spirits around were blown backwards end over end away from the Check In station from the sudden torrent of wind that flowed off Cells' body and even Yenma was blown backwards off his chair.

"Apparently you do not recognize the last two Supreme Kai in the universe. Allow me to make myself clear: This Kaioshin has turned traitor. I do not wish to kill him, but he must be kept out of my way. Hell should make a good holding cell, now wouldn't it?" Cell asked.

King Yenma pushed back up to his feet and stared at the two of them. Before he could say anything King Kais voice filled his mind. 'That creature is not a Supreme Kai, but a mortal made from the cells of the greatest fighters of the future, including the real Supreme Kai in his hands! Heed his words for now and show no doubt to him.'

Blinking at the unexpected voice, King Yenma cleared his throat and righted his chair before taking his seat again. "Understood. Forgive my lack of respect, Kaio-sama." he stated. "Hell would indeed have the resources to contain a renegade Kaioshin. Your wisdom in sending him there rather than to the Demon Realm is incomprehensible." he added.

Cell raised one eyebrow, not recognizing the term. "Demon Realm?" he questioned. A bead of sweat rolled down Yenmas forehead. "Yes. The Demon Realm is a sub-sector of Hell where he would surely have been killed, and his soul feasted on." he lied.

"Hn. Yes, I don't wish him dead. Keep my brother where he will be safe-- but helpless." the tone was firm and intimidating. King Yenma nodded his head. "As you say, Kaio-sama." he declared. "The body will be taken and sealed away." gesturing for Cell to place Kaioshin by the door labeled 'Hell' over head, he opened his logbook again yet did not start reading.

"Is there anything else you require, Kaio-sama?" King Yenma asked after Cell had left the Supreme Kai where directed. "No. But the order of things will be... changing, shortly. More souls may be arriving in the near future." he responded, then teleported back to the Kaioshins planet.

Once Cell was gone King Yenmas stature cracked and he let out a sharp breath of relief. 'King Kai?' he thought. The kaios voice came back. 'Very good. You must do as Cell said, and I will shortly join him. The nightmare of Cell has only just begun, and we will need all the help possible.' King Kai responded.

'I have been watching over events ever since the real Kaioshin made his presence known on Namek some months ago. I have over heard what the future would have become if not for one Son Trunks efforts to derail it in the past. In this short period of time I've consulted with the Grand Kai and Kaioshin and it seems prudent that the following measures be taken...'

* * *

**Approximately two days later**

"So you really _are_ going to return to the future." Vegetto stated. Trunks nodded his head. "Yeah. I have to know if what I've done has honestly changed anything at all, or if the whole thing failed." he answered. Vegetto shrugged. "And if it hasn't?" he asked.

"... Then I'll just have to come back and try again. Some key event has to be responsible. Maybe it hasn't occurred yet, or maybe Piccolo _honestly needs to die_." the last few words were spoken in a mild, though angered, tone. He was still having a difficult time forgiving his father for sparing the namekians life.

"... Good luck." Vegetto stated, ignoring Trunks anger. Floating into the open Time Machine, Trunks sat down again and began flipping the switches needed to power the machine up. "It might take a couple of years to charge it up again. If things worked out for the better, you probably won't see me again. If not..." he trailed off.

Vegetto nodded. "Just remember our little bet." he added. A flash of annoyance appeared on Trunks face as he dug into a pocket and pulled out the capsule. "Are you sure Gokus personality hasn't taken more of a hold than Vegetas?" he asked shaking the capsule around a little.

Vegetto smirked. "Oh, I'm sure. I just want to see him improved. Find out what the great tyrant of the universe is capable of with fully restored limbs and at full strength. And if anyone can do it, it's your mother." he stated. Trunks sighed and pocketed the capsule again. "Right." a soft hum filled the air as the energy cycle peaked and the engines began running.

"Time to go. Goodbye, dad." he called down. Vegetto simply nodded his head in reply. The lid of the machine came down and sealed itself with a hiss of pneumatics engaging and in moments the Time Machine lifted off the ground, then vanished with a high hum and distortion of reality.

His future son gone, Vegettos smirk faded. Gohan was dead, Chi-chi was dead, apparently the Supreme Kai had left and wasn't in the mood to reappear, and Kami was pretty much dead as well. Piccolo was currently sulking in his palace.

Well, the only people left that he could possibly be entertained by were the other Z-Fighters.

* * *

In Other World, Cell completed his over all planning. Earth was, after all, only one planet out of thousands with life. He had meant what he said to his fellow Supreme Kai, that now two existed the universe would be a better place. He intended to watch over and protect life from unneeded threats.

But he fully intended to avenge his creator along the way, as well as restructuring the order of things. The kaio were hardly doing a good enough job, nor the Grand Kai. And look at what had happened with the rest of the kaioshin? Practically wiped out by a single mortal and his monstrous pet beast!

Clearly the divine order was impractical, at best, if such things could occur. The threat of Frieza, another example, and his entire family would have been killed long before now, rather than allow them to live and amass such trouble if Cell had been around in time.

He would need to know where to find the other kaio first, however, before any changes could be implemented. Ascending off the Kaioshin planet, Cell began the systematic hunt for the next strongest power levels after those of earths own. It wouldn't take long with his instant teleportation.

* * *

**Approximately fourteen years into the future**

A disturbance in reality appeared over the remains of the original Red Ribbon Army headquarters, long since modified over time to become the new home to Dr. Gero and the others.

A high hum accompanied it after a moment and the Time Machine reappeared, the jets in each leg activating and lowering it to the ground slowly. Trunks popped the lid open and stared around himself in slight dismay. 'The scenery's the same.' he thought lowly.

Rising out of the chair and returning it to a capsule, Trunks began feeling out for his mother and Yajirobes ki. To his disappointment he found them inside he base. 'Damn it all! I knew Piccolo had to die to avoid this!' he shouted silently, expression growing angry.

Gliding down to the entry way and slipping inside he dropped to the ground entirely and began walking forward slowly, trying to get his temper under control. After a few minutes he reached the living area, and when he did his expression was neutral again, calmer.

"Hello, mother. Yajirobe." he called out to where they were sitting at a table and talking softly. Bulma jumped and spun around at the sound of his voice while Yajirobe merely glanced over. "So I take it yer not here ta bring good news." he called back loudly. Trunks shook his head.

"I changed the past. Piccolo was prevented from learning the Kaioken and killing anyone else. But father didn't kill him! He nearly succeeded, and at the last moment infused him with enough ki to recover." though he tried to keep his voice level his anger at the incident still leaked through.

"So the future wasn't changed in the slightest." he added after a couple of moments and sat down at the table, sighing in frustration and annoyance. "Well, tell us what happened. How long were you there?" Bulma asked him, looking his form over for any new injuries or scars.

Trunks explained quickly, then let out a low "oh." of realization before reaching into his pockets and drawing out a small capsule. "We had a bet before I left. That if nothing had changed..." he stood up up and backed away from the table before activating the device and allowing Friezas limbless form to appear.

The changling immediately growled aloud for the first time in days and began laying every obscenity from each language he knew out on Trunks, mostly aimed at his father.

The sight of a living being appearing from a capsule froze the other two, before Yajirobe broke it cracking out laughing. Mixed with Friezas cussing, Trunks expression shortly fell from silent disapproval and annoyance into amusement. "Ya stuffed... th' tyrant.. o' th' universe.." in between laughs Yajirobe managed to speak.

"I didn't, no, but dad did. He wanted me to ask you," he turned to Bulma, "if you would repair Friezas body. Restore his limbs somehow, synthetic material like Dr. Gero, or at least fully mechanical." Trunks explained over the other two. Bulma looked down at Frieza silently, contemplating all of this after her shock wore off.

Frieza himself paused to look up at Trunks in, firstly, surprise. After a few moments that turned to suspicion, and shortly thereafter ridicule. "No back-water technology could repair the damage done to me." he stated in a tone of finality. Trunks leaned down and picked him up by what was left of one shoulder.

"My mother contributed to the repair of machines that created androids three times your strength on Namek. Don't insult this planet again. I don't have Vegettos amusement in keeping you around to taunt." Trunks stated flatly.

Frieza snarled and tugged free, falling to the ground rather than endure being held aloft by a saiyan. "Lets make a bet out of it then, Frieza. When she succeeds in repairing your body, you'll be restrained to a lowly eight million ki instead of your full power-- until a day comes when you can prove yourself trustful." Trunks offered.

Frieza briefly allowed himself to consider the possibilities to being able to move again. But he crushed the hope before it could grow. "And when she fails you provide me with the starship to leave this soon to be destroyed world behind." he responded.

Despite what he had just said, a slight smile tugged at the edge of Trunks lips. "Agreed upon." he said with finality. "_Excuse me! Don't I get a say in any of this?" _Bulma demanded in exasperation. Trunks and the changling both glanced at her and intoned at the same time, "No."

* * *

**Approximately fourteen years prior -- Other World**

Gohan paced back and forth in side King Yenmas desk, waiting. What King Kai had thought of was... complex. But it couldn't be fully initiated, not now that Cell had gathered each kaio at the Grand Kais planet for... discipline. 'I thought we were in for trouble with Frieza.. darn it, why did I have to die against Coola!?' he thought dismally.

Whatever arrogance had bled over into him from Vegetto had fled, for the most part. He was left confident, but also now some what cautious again. Concerns over what was planned distracted him, but he was willing to do his part when the time came, unlike in earlier battles.

The inner rage and power he once possessed still dwelled in his heart, but he had more control. He didn't have to lose himself to his emotions to access it like he used to. He Idid/i require some degree of anger, but not complete, seemingly mindless and blind rage.

That, coupled with his time spent training with his.. father, had greatly improved Gohan in all aspects.

But he had doubts about what was going on. If what King Kai suggested worked, then what would they do afterward? If the answer to one problem is to replace it with another, how is that helpful? What little the kaio could get from Kaioshins mind was critical in the detailing for the plan, and the method to surpass what could become a later threat, but even still.

The only things they had been able to do before Cell intervened was to return Gohans body to him and grant him 72 hours earth side time to accomplish anything he needed. Hardly long enough to do anything of meaning, but it was more than the usual 24 hour limit.

Unless they could find one of the ancient namekian elders who belonged to the Dragon Clan, it would be impossible for him to be resurrected. 'Which is one of the required tasks.' Gohan thought and shook his head. 'And if that fails, I get shipped to earth for a little while to inform dad and.. _Trunks_, about the flaw in the Room of Spirit and Time.'

It was, all in all, a dismal series of events. Either way, Gohan would be taking a detour before his return to the living world. Kaioshin did not know of this slight hitch in the plan, but his form would be the offer. Whether or not it was accepted would decide if Cell would remain tyrant over the universe.

* * *

The four kaio and dai kaio were gathered together on the Grand Kais planet before Cell, his full power awash over the area and crushing most of them into the ground. The only one still standing upright was the Grand Kai himself, and that was with an effort. Sweat dripped down off his form.

"So." Cell stated, arms crossed before his chest and staring the elder dai kaio in the eye, for his shades had fallen to the ground. "You still resist. I do not intend to harm, let alone kill, any of you. The divine order has thus far been poorly executed, and the weakest can hardly be blamed for the injustices of the universe if they were never corrected by the strongest." he said with a hint of cool agitation in his voice even as his stance remained at ease, though it was perfectly still.

"The five Kaioshin failed to uphold true order to the universe. Their failings were passed down onto the five kaio, and from them out into all of Other World. No, I will not punish you for these failings. I will re instruct you to proper control over things, and _then_ strike out should you falter and fall back into the old paths." he stated

Grand Kai narrowed his eyes. "You expect us.. to trust you?" he demanded. Cells eyes in turn narrowed. "Trust me? I expect you to _listen_ and _obey me_. Trust is not needed." he responded in annoyance. "However... I alone can not run the universe. I suppose it falls onto _me_ to trust _you_ to continue serving the divine order." letting his power abate and fall down to a more comfortable level, Cell stepped forward.

"Since they say you are the most skilled fighter in all of Other World, let us settle this in a match. I will allow you any advantage you wish. In the end, should I win, you and the other four kaio obey my commands. And should you win, make what ever demand you wish." Cell offered in a calmer tone than before.

Grand Kai turned and looked at the four kaio behind him. ".. No advantages. Just keep your strength even to my own. Who ever possesses the superior techniques will come out on top. It is the true _kai way_." he murmured. "You can not abide by that now, Dai Kaio!" King Kai and the Western Kais voice rang out together. They glanced at one another in surprise, forgetting any rivalries

"You're making a mistake." Cell stated in a tone of disappointment. "But if you wish to fight me equally, then equally it shall be." rising into the air Cell shot forward to the large arena platform a few hundred feet away. Grand Kai let out a soft sigh and turned back to face the others.

"Remember, the Demon Realm is far below even Hell. It is the deepest point of Other World, as Heaven is the highest. The young saiyan can complete his assigned task, and I'm sure he'll find that old namekian on the way, but the gate way must be unlocked _now._" he explained softly yet seriously, weary from the weight of Cells ki pushing down on him.

The others were barely any better. "But won't they be able to cross over?" South Kai asked. "Not without a Kaioshins presence at the gate as the final marker. Now _hurry_." Grand Kai answered, glancing over his shoulder to see Cell waiting calmly in the middle of the arena.

"I might be able to out maneuver him and the point is lost, but I've seen some of the fighters in his arsenal. This won't be an equal fight no matter what." with that said he motioned for them to get on with it.

Each Kai was silent as they reached one hand forward and pressed the edges of their hands, interlocking the thumb or pinkie finger together, and focused. Grand Kai himself placed one hand above and below theirs with the palm facing either downward or upward, respectively, and began chanting softly in their native tongue.

A low white glow began in the middle of their hands, in the box they had created from them, but that light quickly turned a sickly yellow before fading into dark orange, crimson, dark blue, and finally pitch black. At that point the others chipped into the chanting and suddenly tore their hands away.

Left floating in the transparent box that had been formed by their hands was a strange, prism shaped sphere of ki. It hung in the air for six seconds before swirling into a minute wormhole, revealing the true depths of hell where souls became frozen for eternity as their punishment, and even further down a narrow chasm in the ice into pitch black darkness for what could have been miles.

Eventually a black-red glow appeared, no larger than a small fruit, and there the energy of the wormhole reached its destination as it closed on the kaios side. Unable to see the events that occurred, the sphere slid into the glow and sent vibrant cracks along the surface of what ever it was holding the glow into place.

A single, yellow eye appeared looking out from the cracks, making it split a dozen or more times-- yet unable to free itself. The barrier to the Demon Realm had been weakened, but not yet broken.

zzz

**Back on Earth**

Vegetto caught Tiens Shin-kikoho in one hand and felt the attack explode around him. The sheer out put of power behind it tore at his skin and sent a shower of blood spraying downward into the square shaped crater formed. 'Sonofa...!' before he could do much more than cough and attempt to pick him self up off the ground after losing his ten times Kaioken, several areas of flesh burned off and letting thick droplets of blood fall down, another came at him.

"Damn it!" this was hardly the entertainment Vegetto had expected after tracking the other Z-Fighters down. Having practiced with King Kai before being revived, Tien had greatly improved his Kikoho technique into the still-progressing yet very-powerful Shin-kikoho.

Yamcha had likewise upgraded his arsenal of techniques, gaining the Spirit Punch. While hardly as useful as the Shin-kikoho, combined with the Kaioken it could be a very powerful attack. Chaozus psychic abilities had taken a large step forward as well, and he used everything he had to take a hold of Vegettos form to try and keep him from moving.

"Rrgh.." they had grown far stronger than he could have expected, delaying their return to earth until shortly before the space pods from namek landed. The additional four months of training and sparing among themselves had seen high rises in strength and technique.

With no choice, he amplified his strength with a silent command of 'Kaioken times twenty!' the psychic force keeping his limbs in place snapped free as Vegetto brought both arms up before his face, no time to retaliate or even dodge correctly. The sudden rush of muscle increase sent blood gushing out of his damaged flesh, pooling rapidly at his feet...

Only to get sprayed back up into the air every direction and evaporated before the sheer heat of the attack. Vegetto himself was pushed back, but not down again, as smoke rose up from his skin where the damage of the first Shin-kikoho was cauterized.

The effect not only hurt, and badly, but it angered him as well. Some of Vegetas arrogant, egotistical personality rose up stronger than before as these mere _humans _were defeating _him._

He saw red for only a couple of moments before he was able to beat it back down into submission, however. 'These humans are my friends!' he growled to himself, 'Not weaklings to be slaughtered.' he added more vehemently then he would have expected. To his surprise they had stopped after the second Shin-kikoho hit and he fumed to himself for those few moments.

Rising up out of the crater formed he noticed them watching and regarding him silently. "Why did you stop?" he asked in a harsh tone. He may be under control of his rage again, but he was plenty pissed none the less. "You looked like you were about to snap." Yamcha called forward after the four--including Krillin, glanced at one another, and let out a nervous chuckle.

"... Fair point." he responded gruffly. "I can't believe your three improved so drastically." he stated after a few moments. They let out a collective sigh. "That ten times earths gravity was a hard but efficient training tool. We had to improve just to be able to move up there with out growing exhausted." Tien answered. His stance after relaxing was slumping over a little and he was showing signs of fatigue.

"I can only use my Shin-kikoho a couple of more times before it strains my body too much. Kaioken drags it down to two times a day, but at least I know I can help out next time a threat appears." he said with a smile, recalling his failure to harm Nappa.

After a few more minutes of talk Vegetto rose into the air. "I need to see Master Karin about getting my body healed." he said and shot off into the sky. In truth he was disturbed at how easily they were able to keep up with him. If he had taken another Shin-kikoho without the Kaioken, he would have died.

Chaozus psychic strength had increased greatly to hold him in place. Yamchas speed was impressive, of what little he had seen before the Shin-kikoho had hit him. Only Krillin remained so far behind that he had just sat the bout out to watch.

* * *

**Other World**

Grand Kais body slammed into the ground beneath the weight of Cells body. The 100 tonne attachments to the Supreme Kais wrists, ankles, torso and neck proved useless after Cell utilized his teleportation, getting his entire body into positions to deliver devastating blows the aging Grand Kai had no hope of avoiding.

Even now he had no choice but to banish them least he suffocate. Cell rose up into the air and wiped his hands, as though clearing them of dust. "I warned you that you were making a mistake challenging me like this. I offered you the chance to have me at any disadvantage. But you allowed your so called Kai Pride to interfere. _And you lost because of it_." Cells voice was not mocking in any way, but sharp and disappointed.

"This is precisely what has been occurring through out the universe for how ever many millions of years things have been under my brothers control. It was utterly foo--" the rest of his lecture was cut off as Grand Kai rolled to his side and unleashed a gathered Thunder Flash.

Cell raised one hand to his forehead and almost instantly lowered it back at the mass of flames rolling in at him. The off white-purple tinted ki at his finger tips sizzled to life as he shouted "Special Beam Cannon!" and shot the spiraling beam straight into the heart of the attack-- and into Grand Kais immobile form.

It cut into his left shoulder and went cleanly throught, leaving a narrowed red hole that drilled through bone and muscle without spilling a drop. He shouted in pain but kept his concentration up, preparing to attack again as the flames remained on the arena from the first attack.

Cell saved him the trouble by teleporting directing in front, one hand before his face. "Kiai." he declared. The force erupted out and smashed into the dai kaios face, breaking his nose and scraping at his flesh as it sent the neck reeling backwards.

"I did this next technique when I fought and killed the Demon King Piccolo on a no longer existing future Earth. It tore him apart." Cell stated in a darker, softer voice that he was reserving for when he fought Vegetto and Trunks.

"I call it the _Kiai-bouhuuu_, or Storm of Kiais." he declared before vanishing from sight with instant teleportation. Grand Kais eyes seemed to be able to follow his form after each reappearance and vanish, but to the others Cell had simply disappeared and not reappeared at all.

The sight of the dai kaios body being smashed from every direction back and forth was thus even more alarming because of it. Clothing and skin was torn free in a spray of blood. Bones were broken and ripped open to free their inner marrow. And Grand Kais shouts of pain quickly rose to agonized screams as the wounds increased.

After only ten seconds it stopped and Cell reappeared to all of them, lowering both hands. Only after nearly a minute did his shouts reach them with the accompanied sonic boom, displaying the speed of which he had moved while performing each kiai.

"You have been utterly defeated. Concede and live to walk away. Continue and suffer the same fate as my brother." he warned sharply.

A barely audible whisper escaped the dai kaios wheezing lungs. "So be it." Cell responded, his ears easily hearing it. He had likewise heard their words from before. He knew what they were going to do and he understood it was another example of poor judgment passed down from the previous Kaioshin.

But the Grand Kai had suffered so they would not. _That_ was why he wanted to fight in the so called 'Kai way'. He knew _somebody _had to suffer, and as the leader of the kaios it fell onto him to demonstrate what would happen to any one who opposed Cells way in the future.

Not that Grand Kai hadn't wished to win, but he expected to lose. And Cell had provided that loss in a way that should get the point across easily.

Leaning down to pick him up by the right arm, Cell stared the Grand Kai in the eyes then turned to face the four kaio. "The Grand Kai has chosen to go into the same punishment as the previous Kaioshin to atone for the problems he allowed to come into existence under his care." Cells voice carried no tone to it, no amusement or pleasure, no disappointment or annoyance.

"However, in doing so he would prevent the four of you from ever fully obeying my command. I can not allow that. I intend to change this universe for the better, and your willful cooperation will be needed in doing so." teleporting forward he lowered the Grand Kai before them.

"What planet has the most advanced medical levels?" Cell questioned them as a group. "..." "_I intend to heal him_." Cell growled lowly, at last letting real anger into his voice at their silence. "... Earth." King Kai reluctantly stated. Each of the others were unable to name a planet.

Cell tsked in an open show of disgust. "One out of four." vanishing from sight Cell returned to his home planet. He already knew of the senzu bean plant, but he wondered if anything else could possibly surpass it across the cosmos. What he would encounter would soon change up Cells plans to some degree.

* * *

The doorway that formed in the desk drawer that Son Gohan was pacing back and forth in surprised him. He hadn't expected it to actually form, but now that it had... It was time for him to get going. He descended down the spiraling stairway that appeared just behind the doorway quickly.

It took him a short time to reach the bottom and come out near a strange tree baring unique fruit. A tall fence ran along its perimeter, and two ogres took turns pacing around it protectively. The reason why turned out to be more than just the doorway back to the rest of Other World, but the broken form of Kaioshin hanging from its branches.

Rising up into the air Gohan untangled the Supreme Kai and flew them over the fence before dropping to the ground where he caught the attention of the two ogres. "Hey!" "Whattayadoin'!" they shouted in union. The red one approached rapidly. "Give that guy back!" he demanded as the blue one stomped forward slower.

"I guess you guys weren't filled in on the plan." Gohan muttered, laying Kaioshin on the ground. "I'm here on King Kais orders. I have to locate the path down to the Demon Realm." he said aloud. The red one narrowed his eyes. "A kaio would never instruct someone to the Demon Realm! You're gonna pay for touching his divine being with your filthy hands!" he shouted.

Gohans eyes narrowed in annoyance. The red ogre shot forward like a blur to his fellow blue ogre, but the kid before them didn't even move. All of a sudden the red ogre flew backwards with a grunt and smashed into the tall fence. Only after a couple of seconds did the after image of Gohan fade away and reveal the real thing standing behind the blue ogre.

"I don't lie." he snapped and spun in the air to kick the blue ogre in the shoulder, sending him rushing forward to land on top of the red ogre. "I guess I'm going to have to find some one else down here to take me there." he sighed and once again picked up Kaioshin before soaring into the sky to start looking for anyone that wasn't a spirit-cloud.

* * *

After several hours and weary from the search, Gohan landed by the next Mountain of Needles. No one knew about the deeper layers of Hell, or how to get to them, where at the bottom most layer the barrier between Hell and the Demon Realm lay in wait.

He hadn't found very many other dead down here with a body, either. Of them, they were souls that were in the process of repenting whatever sins had consumed them while alive, and they hadn't a clue nor did they want to know how to get to a deeper level. To Gohans amusement, he quickly located Coola. Now, Son Gohan didn't have a vengeful streak, but he did want a little pay back for his demise on earth.

And while it is physically impossible to kill them, ki attacks ido/i hurt pretty darn bad. And of course it's possible to scatter one with a well placed kiai, as well. So as he hunted for someone with the knowledge to get deeper into Hell, he tormented Coolas spirit-cloud. Minor things, disrupting his form, burning the edges of his cloud, just the sort of things the Cold Family had likely been doing for years to their underlings.

Eventually Coola demanded to know what it would take to be freed of this torture. With nothing to lose, and unlikely to gain, Gohan asked of him the same thing he had everyone else. Yet again Coola did not have the answer, but he remarked that a namekian down here was kept beneath the lake of blood as punishment for his sins, one of the few with a body.

Gohan highly doubted it. Still, it was better to waste his time doing that than this other-wise useless searching, and once more he rose into the air. It took him only a couple of hours to get back to one of its edges, for the lake of blood was massive enough to stretch across half of Hell. After dropping Kaioshin on the outside Gohan concluded how best to deal with this.

"I can blow a hole into it, try to drain it, or just dive in." rising into the sky he chose the option that would probably have made Vegetto smile. He summoned his strength for a six fold Kaioken and started charging a Kamehameha. He let it grow in his hands, feeding it strength, for ten seconds before screaming out the last part of the technique. "HAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

Thrusting his hands forward the demi saiyan unleashed the massive beam of ki down toward the center of the lake.

In all the history of Hell, only two others had ever tried manipulating the lake of blood to their gain. Neither blew it up. Gohans Kamehameha detonated with enough force to spray a fourth of the lakes blood a mile into the sky and twice that outward.

Some of it got caught up in the clouds below Snakeway over head and retained it, later to rain blood down on the unlucky few who passed beneath. For the most part it soaked the landscape around the outside edge. The rest sloshed back into the lake, and Gohan realized with enough power he could probably drain it with only a couple more Kamehamehas like the previous.

He murmured lowly to conserve his strength, "Kaioken... times ten!" it had been hard on him before, but he kept control of it, his dead body more durable than living flesh. "Kame.. ha me... " once again he fed his strength into it, and this time got closer to the surface. His cloths already dripped of it.

"HYAAAAAAHH!!" he roared again. Even larger than the first, the explosion sent waves along the surface of the lake to crash against the farthern most edges and bleed over them to the ground outside. A good third of what remained met the same fate as the previous, but this time before it could rush back in Gohan caught the glimpse of green skin beneath what might have been glass at the lake bed.

Already weary from his earlier search and now the two ki attacks, Gohan didn't bother with another Kamehameha. He knew where that glass was before it vanished below the surface again. Though he didn't need it he took a gulp of air anyway before diving below the surface and swimming down to the lake bed a few dozen feet down.

Once at the bottom, sure enough, he found a glass window where a dark skinned being was looking up at him with mild interest. Gohan gathered ki into his palms before raising them over head in the somewhat more awkward-under-liquid pose of the Masenko, and once the sphere of ki had formed, he drove it down into the glass.

The eruption knocked Gohan clean out of the lake to crash on the edge where Kaioshins form lay, likewise soaked in blood but not damaged. What remained of the lake began rapidly draining down the hole that had been sealed like a giant plug. In only a couple of minutes the lake of blood had been drained completely, and the worn out demi-saiyan began his journey downward with the Supreme Kai hanging off his back.

* * *

**Approximately 14 1/2 years into the future**

Trunks pushed up off his bed at the sounds of arguing. What little rest he could get was lost as he shot forward through the hallways down to the laboratory where Frieza spent most of his time.

The first few attempts at creating fully mechanical limbs hadn't responded well at all to Friezas body. With that avenue lost, Bulma was only now after six months effort on the over all project getting the synthetic cross blend of cell cultures mixed into titanium multiplating.

The end result was an odd mixture of organic and in-organic material. The process of getting the DNA samples from Frieza had been a long and ardent one. His flat out refusal had wasted time and effort as they had to pursue the previous fully mechanical designs.

Eventually however, it seemed the idea of being restored was starting to take a hold. The changling finally allowed her to collect the skin and muscle samples required from his form, though when this took place Trunks did not know. He had been warily sleeping in his room near the crack of dawn, and when he awoke several hours later she had moved onto the current project.

The arguing now, it seemed, was whether or not the new limbs would take once Frieza assumed his original form, something he had yet to try since arriving.

"If your DNA remains the same it shouldn't matter what form you take." Bulma stated sharply. "My body changes _shape _when I ascend or descend through my forms, miserable human! If the strands don't align any more-- then what?!" he demanded.

Trunks stopped to watch, like he usually did. And as usual, the two stopped shouting, but carried on in lower tones that were no-less heated.

The demi saiyan sighed in frustration. This was hardly what he had expected once he had dealt with Piccolo, he thought he could relax at last, but between the on-going troubles with Frieza and the sheer amount of simple free time available to him, he almost missed the old training regiments he had endured all his life.

Figuring those two would work it out- and if not, he would decide for the changling what to do-- Trunks turned away from them and headed toward where Yajirobe was sitting and eating. "How long have they been at it this time?" he asked the smaller man.

Yajirobe finished chewing his sandwich before answering. "Two hours." he stated. Trunks rubbed his eyes wearily. "Every day its something. With all his nit-picking and remarks, its a wonder mother hasn't given up on this project altogether." he stated.

Yajirobe didn't answer. He could see what Trunks couldn't, what Frieza himself seemed to be barely starting to pick up on. Friezas attitude was changing. He was still plenty bitter, but his remarks weren't as biting as they used to be. He seemed to be unknowingly growing softer toward Bulma, but toward any one else.

The effect was not lost on _her_, either. She noticed it. She welcomed it. But at times like this, it drove her up a wall. "Either you can accept it now and remain in this form for the rest of your life, or you can change to your final form for the last time already and let me connect them ithen/i." she finally snapped at him.

Frieza growled to himself. He rather loathed being dealt with like this. It reminded him, vaguely, of his childhood and teenage years. Having little choice in his decisions, having to do what he was told or pay for it, it was as though fate had decided to mock him one further by reminding him of the earlier years of his life in the current situation.

This earthling woman had replaced King Kold, his father, but she still gave the orders and had the power to ensure they were carried through. And her spawn, the miserable prick, he had replaced Coola. Enforcing the orders and ensuring they got across, though he used words and semi-harmless kiais to do so.

It was almost worse due to the sheer humilation of it all! But he finally accepted that it was futile to keep this up. "So be it." he stated, closing his eyes to get away from the glare she was providing him with, and focusing his mind on anything else. He had to concentrate to do this. But his mind kept returning to all that was going on. His attention would hardly remain on his final transformation long enough to access it, as his memories returned to the past...

_Frieza, no more than four or five years of age, stood by his fathers rich purple throne on a black platform inside of an mostly open amphitheater. King Kold himself was sitting in his throne and looking out over the gathered masses with one hand resting beneath his chin, elbow pressing into the arm rest in boredom._

_"Take note, my son. This empire was built like the platform beneath our feet and keeping those unworthy away. Using the worthless races as stones, layering them one on top of another until a formidable wall had been born that could not be breached. And at the top, the ones responsible for the walls shaping and formation, its process of being built, rest those with the strength and foresight to create it." King Kold stated strongly._

_Frieza frowned. The way so many were bowing to them was kind of amusing, but he didn't see what they got out of it. When he voiced his question, his elder brother Coola stepped out from behind the throne- already as tall as it-- and picked him up by the scruff of the neck._

_"Apparently you didn't understand a word father just said." Coola stated sharply as he ascended into the air, stilling holding his younger brother by the neck._

_His eyes examined the saiyans, the rare aged namekian, the countless other myriad of races among them. He smiled darkly as he found the young saiyan being groomed as the next king of their people and shot forward to grab him by the beard and lead him back to the platform against his surprised and pained cries._

_"What do the people get out of it, you asked?" Coola began as he dropped the saiyan to the ground, then instantly released a death beam into the back of his head before the saiyan could pick himself up. "They get to live until we have no further need of them. They're slaves, and nothing more, and as you still don't want to accept that fact I suppose your education needs to reevaluated." he stated after staring into Friezas semi-shocked eyes._

_As Coolas body had hidden what happened to the former-next-king, Coola turned around to face the crowds. "Hear me, saiyan people. Your heir to the throne has been found to be plotting against the Cold Empire. He begged in his final moments to let him live and sacrifice those closest to him, the next in line Vegeta." Coola paused in his speech to let that sink in, for the masses had fallen silent once he began speaking._

_"His execution has been carried out to avoid needless suffering on your planets people. Do not forgive his for this. Do not allow his family name of Paragus to be forgiven. Execute any who follow that families line to ensure the seed of treachery is firmly stamped out." he finished speaking but leaned down to grasp the now dead saiyan by the tail, and fling the body into the air._

_As he did so he fired a dozen more Death Beams into it, spraying those nearest the body with blood, guts, and flesh. Not only had Coola kept them from truly rebelling by making the executed prince seem like a traitor to both the empire and his own people, but he had dealt with their rising blood lust by giving them the gore-filled destruction of the body._

_"And as for you, brother..." Coola dragged him around to the back of the throne before dropping him to the ground and delivering a sharp backhand. The angle kept Frieza behind the throne, but propelled him farther along the platform. Purple blood and light flesh adorned his knuckles and fingers where the force he used tore at Friezas chin. _

_"You'll eventually come to realize the truth." he called down to his younger brothers un-moving form, for he had been knocked unconscious from the blow._

Frieza opened his eyes to a mild shaking and found the earthling woman had one hand on his left shoulder. "The process is done." she stated. Without realizing it, while reliving that miserable day that began it all, Frieza had transformed successfully through each form to his final.

And the pain he had felt reliving them was his bodies way of telling him something was being done to it, only he wasn't aware of the pain until Coola backhanded him, yet it had been there subconsciously shortly after he was picked up by the scruff of the neck.

Frieza pulled away from her and looked out to the side of the lab, try to get his mind back to the present and off of those memories before two things sunk in. "The process is done." she said, but that could have meant his transformation was done. But he had_ taken two steps away from her and turned_. Which meant the limbs had been successfully attached while he was out of it.

* * *

Narrator: Many plans are taking shape, and events are being triggered by the key players in each of them! Cells hold over the divine order is growing, Friezas limbs have been restored, and Son Gohan begins his descent into Hells lower levels! But what awaits them all? Keep reading for the preview!

Gohans body flew back against the icy walls as the large namekian back handed him. "At last. AT LAST! Oh, the day has come where your decision to return my body to me will see your destruction, Katas nameless offspring. _Lord Slug has been freed from his prison._" he declared, flexing his fingers and rubbing at his wrists where the chains that held him in place for so long had rubbed them raw despite his regeneration.

"And it's all thanks to you, little human." he stated. "Such a shame you'll have to die again to ensure he isn't alerted." Slug raised a hand to attack as Gohan pushed up to his feet, letting Kaioshins body fall to the platform of ice beneath him.

His face was a mask of rage.

Vegetto: 10'000'000(weakened base), 100'000'000(Kaioken times ten), 200'000'000(Kaioken times twenty). Kaioshin: 6'000'000(weakend base). Son Gohan: 1'600'000(base). Piccolo: 20'000'000(spare ki), 40'000'000(weakened base). Frieza: 200'000(current first form), 20'000'000(current restored final form). Teen Trunks: 15'000'000(base). Cell: 900'000'000(base), 300'000'000(lowered). Krillian: 23'000. Chaozu: 170'000, 850'000(Kaioken x5). Tien: 236'000, 2'360'000(Kikoho), 155'760'000(Shin-kikoho). Yamcha: 140'000, 700'000(Kaioken x5). Grand Kai: 300'000'000, 1'000.


	29. Chapter 29

Gohan descended down the jagged hole with Kaioshins limp form held across his shoulders. The sight would have been comical, the larger purple skinned regal figure being carried by the smaller pale skinned and ragged-looking one less than half his size, if they were not both drenched in blood and the look of stress and weariness on the demi-saiyans face.

In only a few moments he was staring at the giant of a namekian form that had looked out upon him from beneath the glass barrier in the bottom of the lake. His style of outfit was ancient looking, even by the standards of Kami or Guru, and his face and skin had many creases and lines of old age across them.

Holding him to the blue-ice walls were black metal chains that seemed to be embedded into the bones of the wrists as they wrapped around. "... And who is it that has successfully broken into hell?" the namekian questioned in a voice void of emotion, even though one eyebrow was arched in a display of curiosity.

Gohan paused in his descent down further to consider him. The plan did require a namekian, but it had to be one of the dragon clan. Before he could respond, the chained namekians face displayed a rapid show of emotions that quickly ended in understanding and a frown.

"Long has it been since I last held a dragon ball of my own creation. I've lost the strength to shape them, held in this place, yet once on free ground again I could recover and rebirth the dragon of your planet with greater strength than ever before. No wish would be beyond Porungas capabilities when I was through with him." he said in the same dull tone of voice.

Gohan frowned at the alien experience of having his mind read in such a way, where glimmers of images were summoned to the forefront of his attention and shifted through with ease.

"Free me, little human of your distant planet Earth. I will aide you in turn." he stated. '... I don't feel like this is a good idea, but he's the only namekian with a body I've encountered down here.' Gohan thought warily as he floated toward the first chain.

"Why are you down here?" he asked. "A mistake I made when still living. I became drunk with the power I once held in my youth and challenged the wrong leader of a people after slaying most of them on my planet. I was critically injured and exiled to die in space. I have strived to repent for my actions to some effect, as my body has been restored. You need my help, child." the chained namekian responded.

'Hm...' taking a hold of one chain at the wall, Gohan crushed it in his grip. Had he dropped Kaioshin to the ground beforehand, he would have failed to do any damage. But the Supreme Kais presence over powered the cosmic power Kami and King Kai once had placed on the bonds to prevent this particular namekian from freeing himself.

The chained namekians eyes widened at the success of the assumed human before him, and as the second chain was severed from the wall, the power it held was lost. He reached forward and tore it from his flesh and bone with a sharp growl of relief despite the damage it dealt.

Slowly it began healing up and with that final confirmation, he approached Gohan and, smiling, backhanded him into the wall of ice behind the demi-saiyan. Throwing his head back, he cried out "At last. _AT LAST!_ Oh, the day has come where your decision to return my body to me will see your destruction, Katas nameless offspring. Lord Slug has been freed from his prison." he declared, flexing his fingers and rubbing at his wrists where the chains that held him in place for so long had rubbed them raw despite his attempted regeneration.

Gohan let out a low shout as his body hit the ice and he fell on his hands and knees, with Kaioshin taking the brunt of the damage. Slug looked down at Gohan with a wide smile. "And it's all thanks to you, little human." he stated smugly. "Such a shame you'll have to die again to ensure he isn't alerted." Slug raised a hand to attack as Gohan pushed up to his feet, letting Kaioshins body fall to the platform of ice beneath him.

From the index finger a thin beam shot forward at Gohans lowered head. The demi-saiyan didn't attempt to avoid or block the attack, allowing it to hit him at the chin and throw his head back toward the top of the jagged hole. Aside from a black bruise to his skin, no other damage was left behind.

Slug gave pause at that, as well as the expression on the others face. Gohans face was a mask of barely contained rage. His eyes were narrow slits as his power level began rising and falling sharply, spiking upwards dramatically before falling back to what it had been before he began the search hours ago.

Attempting to delve into his mind again, Slug found very little success. What he did discover was that the being in front of him was part saiyan, and he was struggling very hard to contain his anger from gaining dominance as it had in earlier situations. Just brief images of one such encounter with Raditz managed to slip through before Gohan lost it.

All his anger at dying so foolishly against Coola, the wasted effort he had been put through the last two hours, the fact that his father was alive and well with his _half-brother from the future_ and he himself was only going to be around long enough to make sure they got years of training together, while Gohan was left out altogether, combined with the betrayal of the one source that meant he could actually live again was too much. He snapped.

With a primal roar of ape-like rage, Gohans power flared in the range of fifteen times what it had just been as a sharp red and white aura burned into life around him with a hiss of ki and wind spiraling out of control. His hair was swept backwards with a deep tint of red flowing across it, and his pupils faded away into stark white lines. His muscles, rather than bulging outward, grew some degree larger before compacting closer together.

The blood stained clothes he wore were mostly blown apart, left hanging as rags, and any liquid itself left sticking to him evaporated beneath the heat of his aura.

Lord Slug was taken aback by the violent change in the child before him, but he had no chance to do anything about it but try and duck back before his face was sent crashing into the wall of ice behind him hard enough to crack it several feet across and leave an imprint behind.

Coughing on broken teeth and a mouthful of blood, Slug pulled away from the wall in time to avoid the next punch that did even further damage to the wall and left a fissure leading several feet into it deep. Using his telekinesis power for the first time in perhaps centuries, Slug threw the demi-saiyans body into the fissure he had just created in an effort to gain some breathing space.

It was lost as Gohan kicked off and rushed him, though he was noticeably slower this time as the aura lost some of its vibrance. Lord Slug was able to twist aside and deliver a sharp knee to Gohans stomach, ensuring a gasp escaped him as the air was driven from his lungs.

Facial features twisting into an enraged, silent snarl Gohan dropped down as a hailstorm of kicks and punches began raining down on his form. He bore most of them without flinching before snapping a foot out and shattering Slugs left wrist and forearm. The bone pierced the skin in two locations with a spray of purple blood and a groan from the super namekian.

Pushing through the pain he used his telekinesis to force the white protrusions back into place and focus his regeneration onto the arm. While that was going on he resumed his flurry of attacks against a seemingly weakened Gohan again, this time tearing scraps of flesh away with each successful blow.

The shock of pain pierced him and with a flash of clarity he realized that his strength was not stable at all. By all accounts, once he reached this form, he should have remained at a solid point of increase, but instead he kept falling back to one point before shooting rapidly upwards and back again, seemingly at random.

Slug didn't want for Gohan to put his attention back into the battle, throwing him into another wall with telekinesis. Gohan slammed hard into his left shoulder and a low crack echoed off the walls as the demi-saiyan cried out in pain. His rage, briefly fading, returned with the pain. But this time it focused him. Rather than charging forward blindly, he felt out his own ki until it peaked again as he ducked beneath a sweeping kick aimed for his throat.

'Now!' with another surge to his power level Gohan kicked off the platform of ice at his feet as he drew back his right arm and formed his hand into a fist. His aura erupted stronger as he yelled and drove it straight into, and through, Lord Slugs abdomen and out his back.

Even as he did this and a shower of blood and scraps of flesh rained down toward Kaioshins body, however, Gohan twisted his arm and hand around to grab into the spine from partially within, partially without. He twitched as his hand longed to clench down and destroy the bone, or to raze it and his internal organs with ki, but Slug had taken him by his left arm and begun pulling upward.

They were effectively caught in a stalemate. If Slug tore Gohans arm from his shoulder, the demi-saiyan would in turn rip out his spine-- or worse. Gritting his teeth together as the pain and pressure continued to build up on his aching joint, Gohan growled and began chanting "Ka me... ha me.." at the same time, Slug began unwinding Gohans hand finger by finger from around his spine.

Just as the final finger tip slipped free Gohan shouted out "HA!!!!" The familiar beam erupted from his battered arm straight into Slugs face. In that moment, the demi-saiyans power dipped downward again strongly. Flesh and muscle was burned away to slightly charred bone beneath from the power that remained behind the ki attack, but it was hardly fatal.

Slugs grip slackened and Gohan dropped to the ice at his feet, immediately pushing back up into the air as he grabbed one hand with his good one and twisted around with all his strength, throwing the super namekian into the fissure in the wall of ice. Against his will Gohans anger began fading away as exhaustion took its place and he leaned back against the wall Kaioshins body was laying at.

He wasn't aware of it, but King Kai was keeping an eye on the events going on here and recognized the figure of Lord Slug. It sickened the kaio, to see one of the Super Nameks that aided in the cataclysm to nearly wipe out every other namekian free again, but he could see that he was the only one of his kind around. It was ivital/i that the demi-saiyan be restored to life, and if Slug had to be the cause of that, than so be it.

Gohans transformation was hindered by the kaio to prevent him killing Slug, and now it helped to further subdue the burning rage that until it was once more dwelling deep within his heart again, sleeping until the time it would _truly_ be unleashed to its full potential.

As Gohan slid to the ground, panting for breath, Slug drew himself out of the wall, his form healed. Before he could do anything, he felt the presence of five minds invading his own. 'Loose again, Slug.' King Kai declared with disapproval. 'You'll never escape hell without the help of Son Gohan and ourselves. Aide and return him to life, and you will be granted... freedom of your crimes while previously alive.'

Slug couldn't help but let another smile begin replacing the sharp grimace that had at first appeared when he felt the four kaio and dai kaio appear to his mind. 'What makes him so special, kaio?' he responded. 'Will you agree or not?' this voice was different and held a far greater presence to it as it appeared to him beyond the other five. It held a sharper, stronger tone to it. 'Failure to comply will see not only your body destroyed, by the saiyan child before you, but your soul sealed into the deepest depths for the rest of eternity.' Kaioshin threatened via King Kai and the others focusing him from deep within the crippled sub-conscious.

Slug visibly pulled back from the voice. It was far greater than the others. He knew of no higher beings than the kaio, but whoever this presence was it far surpassed them. Before he could answer, the voice returned. 'Time is up. Your opinion has been rendered void.' Slug had no chance to brace himself for the sudden stab of pain deep in his brain as, unable to conjure physical restraints again, the five kaio and Kaioshin combined their mental strength long enough to lock away Lord Slugs inner consciousness that granted him such considerable power.

'Revive the saiyan child.' Kaioshin demanded before his mind retreated to his own body and unconsciousness again. The others shortly retreated as well, leaving the super namekian staring at the ice at his feet in blank understanding. He slowly raised his head to stare at the demi-saiyan across from him, then rose to his feet.

"... you seek revival, child? And what else dwells on your mind that sends you here." he questioned sluggishly, having a harder time concentrating without the inner consciousness link established any more. Gohan warily rose to his feet, sliding into a fighting stance again against his weariness.

"I have been restrained, child. The kaio have seen to that." he declared as his eyes narrowed in fury. Gohan didn't relax. After what happened earlier, he wasn't letting his guard down around the giant namekian again. "I doubt that." he responded warily.

"You're the only namekian around here. King Kai says we need one. We're going a lot deeper into hell. You're leading the way." Gohan added as he slowly leaned down and hooked his good arm beneath Kaioshins body and lifted him up. If nothing else, the body would act as a shield against attacks.

* * *

**Earth**  
Vegetto landed at Master Karins Tower and approached the old cat. "Well well! I see you seem to have fallen into some trouble, yes?" he questioned Vegetto with wry amusement etched onto his face. The fused saiyan scowled but before he could say anything, a new figure reappeared in the middle of them.

"... Vegetto." Cell stated in a quiet tone of surprise. After a moment his face hardened and his power began rolling out, but he quickly got it back under his control, though his emotions were harder. Vegetto was blown backwards by the power as Master Karin slammed into the balcony railing and just managed to hook his staff beneath it in time to hold onto the top and bottom with both hands.

Yajirobe wasn't as lucky. After emerging from the stairs leading down to the room with the senzu bean plant he was thrown off the edge of the tower toward the ground miles below. Vegetto didn't know who the dark green and purple creature was, but based off his strength rolling in waves at them and the look on his face, the fused saiyan doubted it would be an ally.

"Your timing..." Cell ground out as he closed his eyes. He had never attempted to reign in his temper before, but he had never had it pushed this hard just off of being in someones presence, either. Focusing on where he knew the senzu bean plant to grow, Cell teleported to the next level of the tower, snatched a single bean free, and vanished again back to Other World.

He didn't need to kill the saiyan yet. He couldn't let one figure jeopardize his plans to change the universe for the better, and what kind of standard could he hope to uphold if he himself indulged in justified vengeance when it presented it self so easily to him?

No, Cell wanted to drag the death of Vegetto and later Trunks out for a long, long time and use them as examples to the peoples of the universe of just what happened to those who took action against him or the way things were going to be. But he didn't know if he could control himself long enough to do that in their presence, not based off of the way he nearly lost control of himself, and for reasons he didn't understand that _scared him_.

Once Cell had left, Vegetto felt for the power to try and see if he could trace it and find out just where it had come from or gone to, but the unknown figures ki signature was gone entirely. Frowning he concluded to look into it further later as he approached Master Karin and helped the old cat back onto the platform.

"Yajirobe!" he panted with a glance over the edge. Vegetto followed his gaze a moment, then let out a sharp sigh and launched himself over the side. 'Damnit, why did he have to emerge just then?' the fused saiyan thought in further annoyance after all the rest of the events that had taken place today.

"Kaioken times ten!" he shouted as the familiar aura burst to life around him and his power level increased dramatically, though with it a sense of fatigue. With greater speed he shot down and rapidly caught up with the cursing human in time to save him from an otherwise painful demise.

By the time they ascended back to the top he was still cursing strongly, finally getting out "Yer always attractin' th' monstrous ones, aren't yer?" he demanded out of breath. Vegetto didn't answer as he allowed the kaioken to fade and set down on the platform again.

"..." 'That power was beyond anything else I've encountered, aside from Kaioshin. Did he send it, or was it acting on its own to come here? And how would it even know of the senzu beans in the first place unless Kaioshin told it?' he thought. "Vegetto!" Master Karins voice broke his concentration as the old cat smacked him in the knee with the hard end of the staff, and from his expression it was obvious he had been trying to get the saiyans attention for some time now.

"What? Oh." he demanded as a senzu bean was held up by the cats other hand. "Take this, then sit. We have much to discuss. I am surprised you haven't come here sooner!" Master Karin said. Vegetto reached down and snagged the bean before popping it into his mouth and, chewing briefly, swallowed.

Within moments his injuries began healing, but on his skin where the flesh had been cauterized, dark scars were left behind. Vegetto noted that silently. "Well? What has taken place since your arrival on namek? Kami was sparse on the details, and I'd like to find out more about the way the courageous Son Goku and the vile saiyan Vegeta were merged into one dramatic figure!" Karin spoke with mild excitement. Truly he was curious, but he also wanted to know as much as he could should the saiyan need his help. That figure to appear was too powerful and threatening to be an ally.

* * *

**Approximately fifteen and a half years into the future**  
Frieza, now on the sixth limb-upgrade since the original, ducked beneath Trunks shining blade and thrust one hand forward, channeling some degree of his ki through the finger tips and realizing several minor Death Beams at once. Trunks dropped to the ground and kicked at the changelings chest.

Frieza in turn caught the first boot in his right hand and spun in place, using his grip to drag the demi-saiyan along the ground before kicking outward sharply at the other legs kneecap. Trunks drove the free foot into the ground and used it to drag him self up to a semi-standing position, then swing his blade once more this time at the middle-arm grasping his other foot.

Frieza released and slammed the edge of the blade aside in time to prevent it gaining the momentum the sword required to cut through his limb. "Wrong move." Trunks stated with a grimace as he thrust his free hand ahead and released a point-blank Burning Attack.

Even as Frieza tried to draw his head back the attack drove into his face and began singing the skin. "Enough!" Bulmas voice declared over the speakers in the room. Trunks twisted and kicked the ki attack away with his free boot and in the process tore his other out of the changelings grip. Landing on one knee Trunks sheathed his sword and stood up, giving the changeling a once over.

"Get up." he ordered before turning and walking toward the exit of the battlefield they were using. It was the old training room Trunks had used for so many years fighting against machines. Now he was using it to fight a partial machine, and his dislike remained just as strong as before of the place.

With a dismissive scoff, Frieza stood upright again and ran a hand across his face, making sure no blood was shed in the process then flexing his fingers yet again that day. For the last hour the two had been sparring, despite the halfbreeds apparent loathing of Frieza himself.

Each upgrade had seen faster reaction times, greater power and agility, higher defensive strength. He was rapidly reaching the peak of his original forms abilities and starting to surpass them!

And along the last year and a half or so of time, Frieza had changed his opinion and emotional responses toward the world he had come to find himself stuck on. He held no love-lost for Vegetto or the Kaioshin, no, but he was beginning to see the halfbreed as something of a.. rival, he supposed, instead of a flat-out enemy. And as for his mother, well..

His respect for her had grown sharply since the days when he was first brought to the future. He enjoyed her presence, even if it meant the occasionally painful surges that came with modifying his limbs. And something else. Humans might have called it love. Personally he called it an affection, the closest thing he could recall from his families teachings that would describe what he felt. Few of his ancestors or relatives had ever truly felt it. He himself was not born of affection or love, but the desire to bare an heir to the Cold Empire with greater promise than Coola had shown.

Shaking his head to clear it, Frieza left the battlefield after several minutes and approached the laboratory where Bulma was running over the data from the last hour. "This isn't good." she stated when he arrived. Frieza frowned. "What?" he asked.

"Several layers have cracked. The metal can't stand up to the stress of contact with Trunks sword or the tension he pushed through your hand to hold onto his foot when he tore it out of your grip." she stated flatly. Frieza glanced down at his right hand and flexed it, and this time as his fingers bent back a soft, hardly audiable crack broke the brief silence as sharp pain radiated up the rest of his arm and through his shoulder.

He growled lowly to keep his bark of pain under control as he approached the table where she did the modifications. Bulma approached with a laser drill in hand and began severing the contacts that held the limb to his actual flesh and bone. The soft humming of the laser and hiss of steam rising off of the point of contact mixed together with the changlings own growling.

* * *

Outside, Trunks stared at the setting sun dismally. Yajirobe joined him. "Good job, kid!" the man declared. Trunks cocked his head at him with a raised eyebrow in question. "You broke his arm!" he explained, smirking. He wasn't any more pleased about seeing Frieza getting close- really close- to Bulma than Trunks was. The demi-saiyan wasn't taking it well.

To make matters worse, after performing a couple of hours of swordsmanship training by himself on the battlefield he had been heading back to his own room when he felt Friezas ki spiking radically in time with with his mothers. Suspecting the changling had finally snapped, he shot down toward her room when he heard the moans just outside the door.

Trunks was by no means ignorant and put two and two together quickly. Feeling his stomach turning he left as soon as he could and spent the next three days standing out on the edge of a cliff in such a deep meditation to clense his mind from the memories that it came as a complete surprise when King Kais voice finally shouted into his mind to snap out of it and pull himself together before vanishing again.

When he returned the memories were thankfully spotty at best, though he still recalled a vague sense that Frieza had been getting more than a little close to his mother.

Trunks stood up as Yajirobe made to sit down. "She's going to be pissed at me." he muttered. Yajirobe clapped him on the back, unable to reach a shoulder, and said in a tauntingly-joyful voice "Cheer up, kid. Yer got a visitor!" Trunks looked off behind him where the man was staring and saw the green skinned form of Guru, Kaioshins errand-boy in the realm of the living.

"Hello, Son Trunks." Guru greeted in a grave tone of voice. Trunks let out his breath in a sharp sigh as he turned to face him fully and responded. "Hello, Guru." The youthfully ancient namekian chuckled at Trunks reaction to his presence, then stepped closer.

"We have been watching things since you left and later returned. After much work the Supreme Kai had confirmed Cell is no longer on this earth. He is no longer in this time line at all." Guru stated in his original tone. Trunks eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"Son Trunks, Cell has taken to the past to attain what he could not here, perfection. You may not be aware of it, but the Supreme Kai has worked very hard to retain knowledge long since lost from his people. In a miracle, the Z-sword has been discovered to house the presence of another Supreme Kai." Guru explained.

"Why do I care? Cell can't be much of a threat to anyone in the past, not between the Kaioshin there and dad working together." he responded dismissively.

Guru frowned. "You care because the Elder Kaioshin has been freed and carries with him knowledge pertaining to time and dimensional travel; He can see the events taking place in the the altered past. Cell has taken control of Other World and seeks complete dominance of the universe as a whole!" the ancient namekian declared sharply.

Trunks murmured something softly to himself. "... what is it Kaioshin wants me to do?" he asked. "Bring the changeling with you, and hear for yourself." Guru responded simply. "You have as much time as you please, as the prime point of arrival is still being derived between the Elder Supreme Kai and his descendant. But you will require time to train harder, and it is wise to prevent the time line shattering from constant revision."

With that Guru vanished and reappeared back in Other World, leaving the two to question what his parting words meant.

* * *

**Approximately fifteen and a half years prior**  
They had traveled for hours, descending through icy walls and tunnels past spirit-clouds with single chains passing straight through their forms and those condemned that still possessed bodies, in much the same shape as Lord Slug had been. The deeper they went the more varied the chains locations and the positions they forced the bodies to be held in.

Eventually ice began creeping up and over their forms until, by the time Slug and Gohan had reached the very end where a thin fissure ran the length of the floor, any one they passed were completely encased in icy prisons. It was not an enjoyable sight, and what little child-like innocence may have remained in the young demi-saiyan was fading away entirely.

"Now what?" Lord Slug asked, turning in place to stare around them. Gohan frowned. "We're as far down as it's possible to go, but I don't think this is where we were supposed to end up at." he muttered, approaching the narrow fissure and looking down into it.

His eyes strained to see anything, and at last picked at the faintest hint of a marble-sized glow below. Grimacing he sat up and faced Slug. "It's down there." he stated flatly. Lord Slug approached the fissure and looked down into it. His superior eyes picked out the glow and he, too, grimaced. "Of course." he murmured.

"So now what? Even I'm not small enough to fit down there, and supposing I could Kaioshins body is too big, let alone iyours/i." Gohan responded. Lord Slug reached both hands down and took ahold of the edges of the fissure, then with a grunt began prying.

Slowly and with a dozen sharp cracks, the walls began pulling apart. "_Go. Now_!" the namekian hissed through clenched teeth as his muscles strained.

Gohan glanced back and forth a few times then cried out "Kaioken times five!" and threw himself down into the dark chasm with Kaioshin still held over one shoulder. The two of them bumped into pieces of ice sticking out and broke it apart as they rapidly fell, but despite their speed the faint red glow never seemed to get closer.

After three minutes Gohan had been wearily down pacing his kaioken level until he lost it altogether. To his surprise the ice walls were only tightly close together at the top of the fissure. Only a hundred feet down they began peeling back and away in a turnip-like shape.

A full ten minutes would pass before they arrived at a floor of solidified darkness. A giant red pane of what looked to be glass had cracked numerous times, and one massive eye looked out from behind it. The cracks began growing and spider-webbing outward as the two stepped only a couple of paces forward.

In under ten seconds the pane of glass imploded toward the eye and a sharp vacuum began tugging the two inward to the burning, scorching darkness within. "Nngh!" trying to pull backwards with all his might got Gohan no where as Kaioshins body began slipping free.

* * *

Cell reappeared and ensured Grand Kai got the senzu bean down before striding off several paces in agitation. "You are each to return to your planet and monitor the worlds under that galaxies domain. Spend no more than ten minutes per world and document the events taking place therein. At the end of one day you will report your findings to the Grand Kai, who will be relocated to my own planet at all times. Whenever evil is found you will inform the Grand Kai, and through him, myself. I will personally eradicate the threat to that planet or its peoples and ensure they understand just what changes are taking place now." he ordered as he paced back and forth.

The others looked to Grand Kai, who nodded his head slowly. "You have heard the Supreme Kais words. Obey them as if they were my own." he said.

Before they could leave however, Cell paused. "Halt." he called out as an idea came to him. "Create a list of each galaxies greatest fighters, good or evil, and alert the Grand Kai when you are through. I will gather them here to this planet and ship them off as needed to other worlds. Yes..." as he spoke he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts for a few moments.

"Go forth." he declared. The kaio warily rose into the sky and began retreating toward their planets scattered not far from the dai kaios own.

"As for you, Grand Kai, you will be coming with me. I have a few things to take care of and your... aide, will be helpful."

* * *

As Gohan lost his stance and shot forward several figures appeared blocking the hole. Leading them was a tall red skinned demon with trimmed black facial-hair markings and wearing a regal looking blue and white-trimmed outfit, complete with white cape. Held aloft in one hand was a long silver sword with a four-point blade above the hilt.

On either side were lesser figures of similar color yet varying outfits, and all of them over a foot shorter. The only other one of interest was a deeper-red skinned figure baring light purple armor and pale white bands around the wrists. His dark yellow eyes glowed malevolently in the darkness around him, as he stood just behind the first.

"Who dares bring a _Kaioshin_ to our front gates?" the tallest and most regal of them demanded in a low voice. Gohan grimaced. "Son Gohan dares." he answered. The lead demons eyes narrowed as he took a step forward. "A mere child wandering around in the deepest pits of hell, who happens to have the highest god held by his side?" he demanded and knelt down to get a better look at the demi-saiyan before him.

"The universe is at stake." Gohan responded. The demon threw back his head and laughed. The others joined in nervously, save for the purple armored figure, who was looking up toward the fissure far over head silently.

"Enough of this." the one in charge stated all of a sudden as he stood up. "The Demon Realm doesn't get involved in the affairs of the universe." he added. Gohan slid Kaioshin to the ground as he felt out their power levels. None of them was any stronger than Lord Slug above. Even in this weakened state, Gohan could take them on, which made him worry just how helpful they could possibly be against Cell.

"King Kai says you can have the Kaioshins body if you agree to help us." Gohan told them as a whole. The demon in charge paused at that. "Does he now?" he asked in a low tone, then turned around to face them again. "Tell me, little saiyan whelp, is your foe made up of the greatest fighters of the universe?" he questioned.

"I don't know about the universe, but he has a lot of strong figures from the.. northern quadrant, I think." Gohan answered, unnerved at the demon knowing he was at least part saiyan.

Shaking his head dismissively, the demon in charge turned around and approached the other around his height and began speaking in a rough guttural language. After several tense moments the other spat at the ground and raised a hand, summoning a long and thin ruby blade.

The demon in charge brought up his own sword and blocked the strike. "Together, Janemba, you pitiful kingpin, we can over take the other world." he stated softly. The one called Janemba snorted in anger and glared at Gohan sharply. "Hardly. You know as well as I the days to come, Dabra." he responded.

Dabra growled. "The words will happen as they said. The Demon Realm shall have no involvement in the events to play ahead." Janemba stated. Dabra bristled as he struck out and snapped Janembas blade in twain. "Far be it from you to challenge the Demon Kings command, Janemba. You're nothing without the evil of the universe to materialize with. Remember that well!" he ordered.

Janemba hissed in fury but restrained himself. "Some day I will make you regret those words." he responded. "And that day is not now. Be gone! I do not heed you permission to leave the Demon Realm." turning away Dabra marched out and grabbed the Kaioshins prone form by one arm, then threw him forward to the others.

"There is your prize, my servants. Desiccate his form well, and feast upon his blood for many days to come." he commanded as they cheered, all save Janemba, who simply spat against the ground again and stepped backwards into the darkness.

One by one the others vanished into it as well, taking Kaioshins body with them, until just Dabra and Gohan were left alone. The darkness no longer sucked at him as it had before, though Gohan was becoming more and more wary about what was happening them ever before.

"Come, saiyan whelp. You want my aide in stopping the overlord? Then help you will have!" snatching up his wrist, Dabra leaned down for a few moments as his ki began rising and electricity grew in the air around them, then the demon king kicked off of the ground and shot skyward.

With every moment that passed his ki increased two fold what it had previously been, until it was resting well into the hundred millions by the time they reached Lord Slug. The power flowing off of him left Gohan paralyzed and nearly unconscious. Slug faired no better as they met.

'It's all falling into place. Just as that fat old bastard once said it would.' Dabra thought to himself darkly.

* * *

**Approximately seventeen and a half years into the future**  
Trunks, the now perfected Frieza, and to the demi-saiyans eternal shame, the now few month old baby changeling Kuriza Trunks stood before the two Kaioshin and Guru.

"State your intentions." Frieza snapped at them, untrusting. He had grown some degree of unease around the demi-saiyan to his left ever since the news that his mother was pregnaut had seen a month long disappearance of Trunks.

Kaioshin frowned at the tone while Elder Kaioshin hmphed in annoyance. "The pasts gotten nice and grim while you two were off gallivanting about your little world wasting precious time training." Elder Kaioshin snapped back as he picked up the crystal ball at his knees and flung it at Trunks.

Without thinking he drew his sword and sliced it in two cleanly. The two halves fell apart and smashed just behind them, shattering loudly and waking up Kuriza Trunks. Frieza spent the next few minutes switching between growling obscenity's at the demi-saiyan and Elder Kaioshin for their actions and cooing softly at his child to try and calm it down.

"Why the hell did you do that?!" Trunks demanded. "Because, you nitwit, the Room of Spirit and Time is perfectly suited to manipulations and you could have spent the last two years training in _there_ rather than out _here_ where time passes perfectly slowly!" Elder Kaioshin shot back.

Trunks re-sheathed his sword and turned to Guru with a look of exasperation on his face. The ancient namekian shrugged helplessly. "Oh shut up, I can translate your language just as easily as namekian, and my ancestors were far from fish faced!" Elder Kaioshin directed at Frieza.

That led to a quick verbal sparring match that ended with Elder Kaioshin smirking knowingly and Frieza glowing with frustration. "What did you just say?" Trunks questioned carefully. "I out spoke him in the original changeling language. I was around long before your people stuck their scaly noses out into spacial exploration!" he added to Frieza.

Muttering almost silently now Frieza turned away from the group. Trunks couldn't help but laugh at that before he remembered who he was dealing with and grew silent again.

"Now if we are all done wasting further time, I'll have you know Cells taken over most of the northern quadrant and into the east as well. He's got the four kaios working to exhaustion to catalog sparse details of no value. Most of the useful fighters- aside from those of earth, obviously enough-- have been recruited to the dai kaios planet." Elder Kaioshin declared.

"That punk half-brother of yours got it in his mind to try recruiting the king of the Demon Realm. Somehow he succeeded without getting killed again, though they haven't left Other World. Some up-start named Slug revived him, by the way. They seem to be waiting on iyou/i to get back, and I say you better hurry it up because earth is suffering pretty heavily right now." he continued.

"I don't know what or why, but you should get back so he can tell you rather quickly. After that get into the Room of Spirit and Time and eh..." eying Frieza, Elder Kaioshin frowned and concentrated intensely on Trunks face. A few seconds later and his voice appeared in Trunks mind.

'Use that time machine o' yours to keep looping back in time for unending training. You can gain years and years without being trapped. Take that berk Vegetto with you, too. I have the feeling he'll be helpful in the long run.' Elder Kaioshin said before Trunks threw him out of his mind. "Don't ever do that again." the demi-saiyan ordered.

Hmphing again, Elder Kaioshin muttered about no respect from the mortals in these days. "Waste another few years training up here, why don't you, hmm?" he said aloud. Trunks didn't respond to that directly, though he did say "I'm prepared to go back now." to the normal Kaioshin and Guru.

"The odds would be more on your side with, loath as I am to say this, Frieza working with you. If you take him back in time he should be able to prove very helpful once he begins taking on Kaioken training." Kaioshin responded."Pah, why should I lower myself to such a weakling technique?" Frieza demanded as Trunks retorted "Just how many people have learned the Kaioken, anyway? It's starting to become something of a joke."

* * *

Narrator: Cell starts to take a firm hold over the universe as we know it, while the real Demon King Dabra waits to strike. Friezas progression has rapidly brought him up to a suitable state of power once more, but will he remain true to his new child and wife or fall back into his old ways? What kind of events will unfold in the chapters ahead? Read on for the next preview!

Cell laughed darkly at the idea as he stared down at the fused saiyans left-kneeling form. "You think you can become strong enough to defeat me in only a single day? Come now, Vegetto, what kind of a joke do you think you are playing on me? I've put off your well-deserved death for far too long. One day is one day too much longer." he stated in a more serious tone as he brought up one hand and took aim with the Death Beam.

* * *

Son Gohan: 1'000'000(tired base), 1'600'000 - 15'000'000(power jumping), 15'000'001 - 225'000'000(Pseudo-Super Saiyan fluctuations), 2'000'000(exhausted base post transformation). Lord Slug: 1'200'000(chained, weakened base), 20'000'000(drawing on inner strength/higher consciousness). Piccolo: 20'000'000(spare ki), 40'000'000(weakened base). Vegetto: 10'000'000(weakened base), 100'000'000(Kaioken x10). Kaioshin: 6'000'000(weakend base). Frieza: 26'000'000(restored final form), 67'000'000(restored final form final limb-set). Teen Trunks: 15'000'000(base), 30'000'000(Kaioken x2). Cell: 900'000'000(base). Krillian: 23'000. Chaozu: 170'000. Tien: 236'000. Yamcha: 140'000. Grand Kai: 1'000(battered form), 300'500'000. Elder Kaioshin: 106'000'000. Dabra: 800'000, 720'000'000. Janemba: 700'000(original body/no posession).


	30. Chapter 30

**Approximately eighteen and a half years in the past, two days following Cells appearance at Karin Tower**

With a soft humm, the Time Machine reappeared above Kamis Lookout. However, it is slightly bulkier than before and the jets keeping it aloft release greater power then before. Resting at the controls was Son Trunks, his expression changing rapidly between annoyance, anger, and disapproval. Slowly it set down against the surface with a loud clunk and the see-through dome popped open with the clicks of several hydraulic locks releasing at once.

Having consulted with the two Kaioshin in the future further, the current plan of action was put into motion over an additional year of time. The Time Machines design was overhauled in the case that Cell could not be defeated as is and one of the Z-Fighters needed to make a haste retreat out of his reach- namely into the future.

The strongest metal in the universe, known as katchin, was summoned from the only location it could be found; the asteroid Oschin encircling the boundary of Other World. Enduring the extreme pressures exerted on the edge of creation as it spins and collects cosmic particles, katchin is born over thousands of years of time in the process.

Weighed down, yet upgraded with this metal, the Time Machine has become capable of taking hits from Cell- or beyond him-- in terms of defense. But that was not all that was upgraded, no. Frieza has been rebuilt with katchin to serve as the metal in the organic-non organic-matter composite of his rebuilt limb-structure.

Now no longer vulnerable to attacks to his hands or feet, and able to cut through or block most ki attacks, he has undergone even greater training to enhance his fighting prowess and stability with the katchin. Son Trunks, once capable of fighting toe-to-toe against the changeling in base form, has been forced to upgrade to his pSSJ form in order to compete.

Both warriors have become stronger as a result, but no where near enough to defeat the perfected Cell. For that, hope lays on the shoulders of Vegetto, and now Son Trunks, Cyborg Frieza, and the changeling child Kuriza Trunks have arrived; one free to move, two retained in capsules.

Floating up out of the cockpit Trunks feels for his fathers power level and falters as the overwhelming strength of Cell reaches down from Other World across the Earths surface. The weight of it might have been too much for him to endure before, but having struggled for the last year of training with katchin weights attached to his body on King Kais planet, where the gravity is ten times that of earth, it merely makes his frown descend further into a scowl.

"So this is Cells power. It's been distorted by the distance he's pushing it across, but to be this harsh from so far away... we've truly got a long way to go." he mutters before speaking louder, "Reseal." the capsule feature on the Time Machine triggers on vocal command, another feature now programmed in over the last year, and he deftly snatches it out of the air.

Focusing past Cells ki, Trunks once again begins feeling out his fathers in this timeline. It does not take him long to find it, engaged in combat against the other Z-Fighters. The strength is lower than expected, but what surprises him is how strong the humans have become in the past compared to his future.

"Time to go say hello." with a low crackle of wind being thrust behind him, Trunks rocketed forward to get the current plan underway.

* * *

**Other World, Hell**

Gohan paced back and forth yet again around the edge of the former lake of blood. Across from him Dabra stood as still as a statue, arms crossed before his chest and sword hanging in the air before him while pointing off toward the north by north-west of the bleak sky overhead. His eyes were closed as he focused.

'There you are. Always jumping around.' the actual demon king thought in disgust as the angle his swords tip was pointed at adjusted minutely from time to time. 'Slowly taking over one world after another.'

Sitting against the edge of his former prison, Slug watched both of the others silently. Left practically powerless without his inner consciousness, the only reason he was still following this futile venture was to be free of Hell for the first time in centuries.

Secretly he hoped to exact vengeance against the kaio and the nameless force that had put him in this mental state as well, though the chances of succeeding against the latter seemed slim to none.

The young demi-saiyans mind was likewise muddled with thoughts. Fatigue, worry, anger and frustration, and a longing to once again be alive occupied his mind. He had no faith in Slug to uphold his end of this process and create a new set of Earth Dragon Balls.

'... Son Gohan...' the voice that entered his mind was one filled with even greater fatigue than his own, sounding as though it was on the brink of collapse. Instantly he paused in mid-step and asked 'King Kai?' the kaio took several moments to respond, and it was with a simple one-word answer. 'Now.' the presence left his mind as King Kai retreated back to his duties.

Frowning Gohan turned to face the other two. "King Kai says now." Dabra stirred and one hand nimbly reached out to grab his sword by the hilt. "Not now. A great force has arrived now, but if it will succeed or not will depend on waiting one d- !" Both eyes opened as the tip of his blade turned sharply in one direction.

".. so soon?" he murmured to himself with arched eyebrows before gesturing for the others to come closer. "So it is now after all. Cell makes his move against your world." banishing his sword back to the demon realm until the next time it would be required, he took a hold of the others hands, knelt to the ground, then shot into the air toward the Check-in Station at full-speed.

* * *

**Earth**

Vegetto ducked his head down and raised one arm before his eyes as Tiens Taiyoken was released. Behind him Krillin threw the Kienzan forward, as Chaozu pushed his psychic energy to take a hold of the fused saiyan. 'Nice try.' Vegetto thought to himself as he gathered ki into his tail and, in less than a moment, released a Kamehameha from it at Chaozu.

The narrow beam crashed into the surprised human before he could do much more than shout and quickly engulfed him in smoke. Freed from the psychic bonds, Vegetto dropped to the ground as the spinning disk rushed through the space he had just been occupying.

With a shout and thrust with one hand he released a kiai against the underside of the Kienzan and sent it spinning off at an angle toward Tien. The three-eyed humans eyes widened and he twisted to the side as the disk came rushing at his left shoulder, barely shaving the upper layer of skin off in a small spray of blood. "Gyah!" raising his other hand to the shallow wound he grimaced in pain.

"I can still Kikoho you with one hand!" he shouted over. Smirking, Vegetto pushed to his feet. "Maybe so. But you'll never catch me with it again, especially with Chaozu down and out." The hiss of another Kienzan soaring through the air at his backside caught his attention and with an annoyed sigh he spun around to deflect it.

At the same time Tien amplified his power and silently commanded 'Shin-kikoho!'. The rush of power coming at him from the previous direction surged forward at a break-neck pace. '****.' eyes narrowed Vegetto kicked off from the ground just as he felt a new power rapidly approaching. His distraction at the critical moment nearly earned him another baptism of fire and agony.

He shot to the side and forward enough to evade the majority of the Shin-kikoho, but the Kienzan was less fortunate. It was burned away from the outside in until there was nothing left on contact.

Performing another kiai to knock Krillin down and out, Vegetto shot back around to catch Tiens hand before he could fire off the attack again. "You three are getting better. The help of Krillins Kienzan could have been fatal against another foe." he stated before letting go and glancing up at the blur in the distance streaking toward them.

Tiens shoulders slumped as he nodded his head. "Still no match for you, apparently. I've never seen the Kienzan deflected like that before." he responded. Vegetto smirked. "You would have killed me if I didn't move at this lowered power level. The strength behind your kikoho is overwhelming, considering your own power level. Don't rule yourself out so soon." he shot back as the strength he had felt approaching arrived at last.

He barely recognized the figure floating over head. The dark yellow jacket hanging off his shoulders baring the Capsule Corp. logo on the right shoulder gleamed in the sunlight, while the symbol for "Son" was etched onto the left front pocket. Beneath that he wore a dark black and slightly silver tinted sleeveless tanktop and jeans above the usual saiyan combat boots. Hooked over one shoulder and over the jacket at a diagonal angle was the sheath for his sword.

Dark purple hair hung down to his shoulders as the beginning of a matching rounded beard in the likeness of King Vegetas graced his face. In addition to the pale scar stretching across his face, Son Trunks carried a look of power and confidence. His eyes took in the scene beneath him and he dropped straight down to crash into the hardened dirt below him, cracks appearing in the ground from the weight of his clothing.

"It's been awhile.. dad." he stated slowly as he stood up straighter and his eyes softened to some degree. It _was_ a welcome experience to see his father again for the first time in around four years time. Vegettos eyes roamed over his future son silently before a smirk tugged at his face and he began laughing sharply.

The others picked themselves up from the ground or otherwise and warily approached. "Apparently we haven't met proper." Trunks said aloud to them as his eyebrows arched in reaction to his fathers laughing. "My name is Son Trunks. I'm Vegettos future child and the brother to Son Gohan. Time travel _is_ involved, but only in so far as seeing the removal of one threat to the planet only so another could rise up even greater." he added as they stopped a few feet away.

"I don't know how much dads told you, but right now we don't exactly have a whole lot of time to worry about it. Kaioshin and his ancestor have cooked up a plan for you to surpass Cell. Frankly I don't have much confidence in it, but right now we've got at least one very powerful... force, on our side. Depending on what ever it is Gohans waiting for in Other World, we probably won't be encountering them until everything is all and done." he continued.

Vegettos laughter died down at the mention of Kaioshin. "What does he have in mind now? And what is Cell?" he questioned. "Lets not discuss this _here_. Cell already has dominance over Other World. Can't you feel his strength?" Trunks asked. Vegetto frowned and felt for it but couldn't sense anything.

Trunks in turn felt for it and glanced upward at the sky sharply when nothing out of the ordinary appeared to him either. ".. this is strange. When I appeared on top of Kamis Lookout, I could feel Cells ki stretching down from Other World easily." he murmured.

"That would be because I'm no longer in Other World, stranger." Cells voice in-toned softly from behind the two saiyans and the humans. All five of them turned around sharply to see Cells tall and proud form with his arms crossed over before his chest and eyes narrowed with a burning fury.

"Oh, f***!" before Trunks could exclaim any further his form was blasted backwards as wounds appeared across his form, yet only his jacket tore. The other pieces of his clothing remained firm in the face of Cells kiai-bouhuuu, the Storm of Kiais, unleashed in only a couple of seconds. His afterimage left in the same stance faded away only once Trunks hit the ground, blood dripping from his lips and arms.

The sheer strength of the ki unleashed during that time left the weaker humans paralyzed, and Krillin blacked out against it. Chaozu followed only a few moments later, though Tien struggled to remain conscious. Vegettos eyes widened at the sight of his future son seemingly being shredded by invisible attacks, but the power being released surpassed anything he had ever felt before in his life, leaving him caught in place before its power.

All of this took place at the same time. When Cell reappeared, standing directly before Vegetto, the saiyan had only enough time to blink and attempt to draw back before a fist had slammed into his gut and nearly punched out his spine, leaving the fused saiyan doubled over with widened eyes and blood erupting out of his mouth.

By the time the pain took note he was on the ground with a boot pressing against his throat, cutting off the shout of pain. "Oh, the days I have waited to exact due justice against you, Son Vegetto and Son Trunks. By your offspring, my creator was killed. Seeing as he was already missing in the future, it seemed most convenient to kill _you_ in the past instead to avenge Dr. Gero." Cell stated.

"I was most pleased to discover both of you here when I arrived. But I had to wait, for greater things had to be rectified beforehand. Now little stands in my way!" finishing with a low growl he ill-prepared for when his ears detected a faint murmur of "Kaio.. ken.. times three!" just a moment before the human he recognized to be Tien pushed up taller wearily and thrust out both hands in the triangular pattern.

The strength behind the beam caught Cell by surprise, being around half his own strength, and it was more than enough to knock him end over end in the air for several feet before it faded away. Smoke rose up off his form, but otherwise no visible damage had been left behind.

Tien collapsed down to his knees, but kept his hands locked together as his eyes became half-lidded with exhaustion, the burning aura around him losing some degree of its brilliance. "Impressive..." Cell remarked slowly as he righted his body and turned to stare at the human.

"It would seem you wish to interfere in divine justice..." floating forward slowly Cell raised one hand as Tien gasped out, no longer able to command it silently, "_Shin-kikoho.. _!!" the power of the beam erupted forward and was captured in Cells hand, as now prepared for it he was able to resist its strength. "Nngh." with a grunt he launched his hand out to the side and flung the beam aside.

By that point Vegetto had managed to struggle up into a kneeling position. In his mind King Kai had been suppressing the pain from being processed while trying to explain what he had to do to get stronger, if he could only delay Cell for just one day. The effort that required would kill him afterward, but for the sake of ending Cell, it was worth dying for.

"Tien.. stop.." Vegetto ordered sharply, staring up at Cell with no small loathing. The look was returned in equal parts by the Supreme Kai. "One day.. I'll be able to over come you, in just one day..." Vegetto grunted.

Cell laughed darkly at the idea as he stared down at the fused saiyans left-kneeling form. "You think you can become strong enough to defeat me in only a single day? Come now, Vegetto, what kind of a joke do you think you are playing on me? I've put off your well-deserved death for far too long. One day is one day too much longer." he stated in a more serious growl as he brought up one hand and took aim with the Death Beam.

It thus came as a surprise to him when the skys over head flashed to pitch darkness, and in the far off distance the form of a giant serpentine figure rose up into the sky.

* * *

Having arrived at the Checkin-Station and gone through the portal back to the realm of the living, Dabra, Son Gohan, and Lord Slug returned to earth in time to feel the sparring of the Z-Fighters. "The Dragon Balls should still be in one place, from what I was told. Probably around the Lookout with the dragon mold." Gohan told them.

"Right. Which direction?" ".. Uh, I don't really know. This was where I died, but the remnants of Coolas space ship aren't around here anymore. We're going to need to ascend to the sky to look for it. The palace won't be hard to locate."

After a few minutes Dabra picked it up and shot off in the direction. Both saiyan and super namekian followed. By the time they got there, Trunks had already arrived and was chatting with the Z-Fighters. "This is as far as I can help. I don't know anything more about the palace besides where the Room of Spirit and Time is." the demi-saiyan explained with a shrug.

"So be it." Slug responded as he descended down below. The first room he entered was the throne room, and sure enough he could see one of the tell-tale orange spheres resting behind the throne of which a thinner and somewhat shorter namekian than he was resting in.

"And what brings _you _here?" Piccolo snarled, instantly agitated yet seeing an opportunity to become stronger still if he could perform the Yugo technique here. Reading his mind, Slug grunted and used his telekinesis to slam Piccolo face first into the floor. "Know your place, Katas whelp!" he responded with his own snarl.

Summoning the Dragon Balls and dragon mold from behind the throne, Slug barely had time to widen his eyes before Piccolos hand was wrapped around his throat and squeezing tightly. The arm was cut off below the elbow as a sword materialized out of no where and sunk its blade through Piccolos flesh and bone.

Spurting purple blood from the open wound and staring at it in disbelief, Piccolo was ill-prepared for the two forms that entered the room a moment later. One of them was Son Gohan, which sent a rush of confusing emotions surging through him, and the other was a monster of such strength that it left Piccolo gasping from being in his presence.

"Another namekian. Surprises surprises. _You_ certainly do not belong." Dabra stated confidently as his blade spun around in the air to dislodge the dark blood before returning to his hand. _"W.. what in hell is going on here_??" Piccolo demanded.

Gohan stepped forward. "... its good to see you again, Piccolo. The universe as we know it is as stake."

* * *

It came as a further surprise when sudden pain shot through Cells entire left arm as a shining blade tip emerged from the finger in which he had been gathering the energy of the Death Beam. Grinding his teeth together, Cell reached around to try and grasp the hilt of the blade that rested just behind his shoulder.

His finger tips remained just shy of wrapping around it. Fortunately, the blade ripped itself out through the way it came and proceeded to chop off the finger tips trying to grab a hold of the hilt. Cell howled. As the blade took aim again, Cell twisted around to grab a hold of it with his battered left hand, as even now his body began healing itself.

It thus came as yet another surprise to see Trunks, whom he thought well and truly dead or at the least grievously injured, leaning back against the cockpit of some kind of machine as Vegetto slid into the pilots seat and the hatch clicked shut again. It was a very tight squeeze, but the two could fit inside. Unfortunately, the others were not so lucky.

The machine rose into the air only a few feet before with a sharp humm, it disappeared from this timeline. This time Cell screamed in frustration, followed by agony as the blade in his grip vanished and reappeared a moment later lodged through his crotch.

When at last the sword was removed and disappeared for good only a few seconds later, the remaining humans laying around him had some how vanished into thin air as well. Infuriated, confused, and without vengeance duly served, Cell teleported to the location of the Dragon.

* * *

**Approximately eighteen and a half years in the future, plus two days**

The Time Machine reappeared and set down roughly. The dome clicked open and Vegetto rose up out of the cockpit with a slightly wide-eyed look. Behind him Trunks slowly rose into the air. "Welcome to the future. About eighteen and a half years, give or take a few days. This is the one safe place we have from Cell, and for now, a back up plan is about to be initiated since the main one just got scrapped by Cells early appearance." Trunks told him with agitation clearly in his voice.

Looking up at the sky over head, he gestured- with the bird, as it turns out-- and waited. It took longer than expected, and by the time Guru arrived, Trunks was grinding his teeth together. "You've arrived back faster than expected. Why have you brought along your father?" Guru questioned with no emotion.

"Surly the Kaioshins are watching whats happening in the past?" Trunks demanded in exasperation. ".. it pains me to say this, but the lives of the humans are of no worth to rescue. To save them now has no benifit, precisely because it would endanger the Kaioshin to do so." Guru responded, reading both the expression on his face and the intention in his mind of what Trunks would do.

"Damn it, the whole point is to save people like them! Why else should we fight against Cell then?" Trunks demanded. Guru fell silent. "It is not for me to decide that. The fate of the universe is the judgment of the Kaioshin to decide." he finally said. "As the Kaioshin have ordered you to the past... to the past you will go. And so will I. There is no room for three, but namekians have greater lung capacity than saiyans or humans." he stated softly.

Trunks eyes widened a fraction at Gurus change. "You mean you'll go into a capsule?" Trunk asked. "Yes. My limit is ten minutes. Hurry through time, Son Trunks and Son Vegetto, and stay within the Room of Spirit and Time thereafter."

* * *

**Approximately eighteen and a half years in the past, plus two days**

As Cell appeared, the new earthen Dragon turned his massive red eyes to him and intoned in namekian, "Speak thy final wish or hold it eternally! I wait no further." The language, having never heard it before in his life, left Cell mystified for a moment that he could recognize it.

"..." "Fair thee well." the Dragon chanted as he his body descended into pure light from flesh and blood and exploded skyward, launching the seven newly re-empowered Dragon Balls across the earths surface before Cell could even come up with something to say.

He would not know just how effectively he had been played, for the Dragon was merely a distraction to allow everything else to fall into place. For at the same moment right then, within the Room of Spirit and Time, Trunks, Vegetto, and Kuriza-Trunks now dwelled. While hiding away in the one place Cell could never go, the Demon Realm, without the current Demon Kings permission were Dabra, Guru, Piccolo, and Son Gohan.

Two dimensions of freedom, and two paths of training. All in preparation of the day when Cell could be fought and defeated, no matter how long it would take.

* * *

Narrator: Events are falling into place, yet like a set of inaccurately placed dominoes, some pieces are falling far sooner than expected. How will Vegetto react to the news that his pseudo-step son is the child of Frieza? How will the Demon Realm influence Son Gohan and Piccolo? And how, now, will Cell react to the actions that have occurred on this day? Read onward for a preview!

* * *

Vegetto stared in open mouthed, slack-jawed dismay at the halfbreed changeling before him, as well as its father standing defensively beside it. It was one unexpected surprise too many for the last few weeks. His mind shut down.

* * *

"_You_, the Demon King? Don't make me laugh, namekian. You're hardly more than a piss-ant by comparison to _me_." Dabra scoffed. Piccolo bared his fangs in a snarl.

* * *

"For this betrayal... your punishment is nullification." Cell stated softly as he brought up one hand and infused it with twenty times as much energy as was required. King Kais soul stared upward at his true end, and the final thought to pass through his mind before he was erased from existence was that he would have stood by the earths side again given teh chance.

* * *

Son Gohan: 2'000'000(Base). Lord Slug: 1'400'000(base). Piccolo: 40'000'000(weakened base). Vegetto: 16'000'000(base). Kaioshin: Dying. Frieza: 94'000'000(firm katchin limb set, base). Teen Trunks: 30'000'000(base). Cell: 900'000'000(base). Krillin: 26'000. Chaozu: 173'000. Tien: 236'000, 708'000(Kaioken x3), 155'760'000(Shin-kikoho vs Vegetto), 467'280'000(Shin-kikoho vs Cell), 4'000(starting to die). Yamcha: 142'000. Grand Kai: 300'500'000. Elder Kaioshin: 106'000'000. Dabra: 720'000'000. Dabras Sword: 720'000'000(weak katchin). Janemba: 700'000(original body/no possession). King Kai: Dead.


	31. Authors Note good news, folks

Hey folks. I figured it might be helpful to have this Authors Note crop up rather than continue to leave things in the dark here.

Divine Intervention isn't abandoned. The story continues to be posted in it's original format over at GameFAQs 's Dragon Ball - General message board. You don't have to be registered to view the board, and the topic in question can be located here: gamefaqs (DOT) com/boards/2000113-dragon-ball-general/50208046 though you'll need to remove the (dot) and spaces and place a proper period in it's place for the link to work. Much has progressed from where we were last left off, and the Buu saga has already begun to unfold.

So if those of you following the story are still interested, by all means drop in and enjoy. The updates for here will eventually be uploaded after I convert all the italics and bolding accordingly and set up scene-jumps so they won't be erased in the transition. Thank you, and good morning/night.


	32. Chapter 31

**A/N: **Thank you JC ;)

After a much awaited hiatus I present the thirty-first chapter of Divine Intervention to ff .net! It's a little complicated on the time-shifts, but try to keep going.

**Demon Realm, history.**

The Demon Realm is only one of a handful of sub-dimensions within the universe. Only a couple of the others would be the the Room of Spirit and Time or the pocket-dwelling within the Pendulum Room. They each were created for a unique purpose, and generally by a higher power than that of mortals. And like the previous two mentioned, the flow of time has been subtly disconnected from the outside dimensions it is tied into.

In this case, the Demon Realm was originally devised as a prison to hold the first of the Kaioshin to become disillusioned with his goals and fall into the temptation of abusing his power for personal gain. The others could not allow him to simply wander the known, young cosmos and create untold damage, and as such banded together with the first Kaio under the command of the Dai Kaio to not only create a dimension to hold a being of Supreme Kai strength, but to prevent any future Kaioshin from trying to free him.

Despite the bleak and harsh surroundings in conjunction with the black magic attacking his ki and the minimal oxygen, the fallen Kaioshin was able to recover enough to endure and begin living and training therein, his anger seething just beneath the surface at what had been done to him.

Over the millennium his emotions and the magic of the prison warped his physical body from the graceful form of a Kaioshin into the brutal and vicious form of a demonic creature. But along the way he had learned how to manipulate the conditions of his prison.

Thus, when he was discovered some generations later while reviewing the status of the dimension and it's inhabitant, the title of "Fallen Prison" slowly changed to be "Demons Housing" and eventually from that into "Demon Realm" as the number of Kaioshin who would fall to temptation and be exiled there increased and likewise warped them as well.

Some several hundred million years later, yet a few million years prior to Majin Buus attack on Other World, the then- South Kaioshin Dabura fell from grace like the dozens of others before him and was likewise sealed away in the Demon Realm.

Unlike the others before him, he had actually given this much thought and study before making his rebellion known. His exile was one of the most devastating to the Dai Kaioshin however, who had had much faith in the former South Kaioshin and had shared many pieces of foreseen knowledge with him.

Around that point in time one of the last things Dabura was able to accomplish prior to exile would be to see that new, non-Kaioshinic beings be sent to the Demon Realm as greater punishment, thereby seeing a small army of those too horrific for Hell to contain to be sent to his soon-to-be domain.

It thusly did not take long for Dabura, still retaining the full abilities he held prior to being warped into a demon, to destroy the former king and take his throne for himself. Soon enough the magic therein did it's job and with the shedding of his original form, so too did he shed his original name and title and become known as Dabra, Demon King.

* * *

**Room of Spirit and Time**

Vegetto and Trunks sat on the edge of the platform leading out into wide, open space as big as the planet outside of it.

An awkward silence built up as the two stared at one another, not sure where to go from here. At last Trunks broke it. "I've got good news and bad news." he said. Still feeling like his stomach was about to shatter from the pain of Cells blow, Vegetto said "Bad news first."

"I really don't think you can handle the bad news right now." Trunks responded nervously. Despite the all-and-all look of bad ass the demi-saiyan sported, he was still fighting to handle seeing his father alive and well for the first time in four years. Even before that, it had been what, several months? Years? Since the Future Vegetto had died in front of him.

Vegetto scowled. "It can't be any worse than getting slugged by whatever the hell that thing was. Cell?" he asked. Trunks eyes narrowed a fraction at the name. "Yes, Cell. Dr. Geros last great project. If you haven't been informed yet, Cell was finished around fourteen or so years after Piccolo arose to power in my timeline."

Trunks went on to explain all of what he and the two Kaioshin in his future knew about what Cell had done in the three timelines. Vegettos expression became darker and darker until ki was flaring from his form and a dark red tint began to flicker in and out of his hair, the pupils themselves paling and returning in time to his hair.

The news that not only had he been trumped several times over by this alien creature, that it held his own DNA in it, and that it had also managed to eliminate the threat of Kaioshin- when he himself held no chance of doing so- was pushing the straw hoping to break the camels back.

"_How in the hell is this the good news_?" Vegetto demanded softly, an underlying tone of anger in his voice. Trunks smirked a fraction before it vanished again. "It proved you are still willing to train and get stronger. Just as _they_ said it would." he said. "You just needed a proper motivation."

"The bad news is..." carrying on before a slightly surprised Vegetto could respond, Trunks dug into his pocket and pulled out two matching capsules. "One, Frieza survived. Two, he is six times stronger than you are. Three..." closing his eyes Trunks triggered the activation button and dropped the capsules.

Frieza reappeared in a flash of gray-white smoke, his child only a few feet away in the same manner. A sharp gust of wind generated by Trunks swept the smoke away to reveal the two. "Three, meet your brother-in-law and step-son. Congratulations, dad, you've got changelings in the family." he tried saying it with dry humor, but it mostly came out as mildly dull annoyance.

Vegettos head had swiveled over to take in the duo that appeared, but it snapped back to stare at his future son with those words. His eyebrows rose up to meet his hairline as his changing eyes widened. "You can't be serious." he stated. Trunks shrugged. Kuriza let out a low hiss at the power emanating off Vegetto and his flickering hair and eyes.

Vegetto slowly pivoted his head around to them again as Frieza lifted his son, now a year and three months old and looking more like he was three or so, into his arms, muttering softly to the child reassuringly. "_There-there, Kuriza, do not let the dark haired monster scare you. He can't harm either of us any more_."

Kuriza mumbled something back too low for either of the others to pick up. Frieza abruptly smirked as he answered. "No_, not a threat. Not family like your mother. Just a lowly monkey_." Trunks scowled as Vegetto... had a mental melt down.

He had forgotten about the deal with Trunks from several days prior, but he wasn't too worried about Frieza actually managing to surpass him. Yes, the strength of his ki was troublesome, but still nothing he couldn't handle with the Kaioken.

It was the slightly human features of the_ thing _in Friezas arms and words from Trunks that he was family with both of them combined with everything _else_ he had learned and endured that day that pushed him over the edge.

The aspects of his personality left over from Goku and Vegeta reacted in wildly different manners. Those gained from Vegeta were horrified, disgusted, angry, and in extreme revulsion while that of Goku felt both disbelief and was simply repulsed by the idea of his old friend and pseudo-future wife degrading herself with someone like _Frieza_.

His power level fluctuated as he went through each emotion rapidly, burning out his ki quickly in the process as his eyes became solid black again and his mouth fell open. At length he spoke. "_You... her... together?_" he demanded of the changeling.

Trunks watched the result with some worry as Vegetto finally retreated back into his own subconsciousness to hammer out his final resolution on the matter- and all the rest of them so far- on his own. His eyes glossed over as his form relaxed against a pillar somewhat awkwardly.

Frowning in concern and reaching out a hand to his shoulder Trunks asked "Dad? Dad? _Vegetto_!" first softly, then louder, and finally in a low bark. No response. He barely heard the sound of Kuriza-Trunks landing behind them before Frieza threw himself at the vulnerable saiyan.

Trunks eyes narrowed as he glanced over to see Frieza draw back one katchin fist and drive it forward at Vegettos blank face. Even as he flared his power with the Kaioken he was unable to fully catch the attack in time, only diverting the strength behind it to some degree. Frieza's fist continued onward enough to knock Vegetto around and onto his back.

"What the hell are you doing!" Trunks demanded furiously. Frieza smiled darkly across to him as he relaxed. "I've waited over four years for this, half-ling. Once again I've proven my dominance over him for the humiliation of Namek. Consider my vengeance... _accomplished_." pulling his arm free of Trunks grasp the changeling returned to his son. He meant what he had said with the influence of Kaioshins mental changes proving useful at last.

Trunks was left grasping at air and his own mental conflict from those words. If Frieza would no longer pursuit revenge against his father that would be helpful. But could he really trust the changelings word? And could he just allow the blow to go without retaliation, considering his fathers state?

* * *

**Demon Realm, two time periods after Dabra and the others return to it**

Darkness dwelled within Son Gohan's heart. Even now he walked the razors edge between good and evil. Piccolo had made a fair amount of progress in the early days when sparring with Gohan, even as he tried to weed out the needed information to perform Kaioken.

"For the love of Kami, shut up about it!" Gohan snapped, the burning red aura flaring with his anger as he dodged Piccolos Hellzone Grenade yet again. Piccolos eyes flashed with anger and annoyance, but he grew silent on the matter- for now. Still, he studied the form and the way it seemed to grow stronger with Son Gohans emotions.

'All right, let's see how well you can handle this.' the namekian thought. He began sending his ki down into each hand, mostly toward the finger tips in one while out across the entire palm with the other. He detested having learned the Taiyoken from that pitiful human, but any advantage could be helpful in overcoming his enemies on earth.

Gohan wasn't prepared for the sudden flash of bright light as Piccolo brought his hands up to his face and clenched his eyes shut. "Argh..!" "Hyah!" throwing one hand downward with all but two fingers drawn back he sent out a charged Special Beam Cannon, the piercing beam drilling down through the magically saturated air with a low hiss toward the demi-saiyan.

Barely a moment after firing it he launched himself forward after the attack as he brought his other hand to bare, sending a Masenko from the angle Gohan was most likely to dodge the previous beam.

Sure enough hearing the hiss Gohan threw himself to the left before feeling the heat of the Masenko. 'Damn it.' the orb exploded against his skin and knocked him head over feet back into the path of the Special Beam Cannon. It, in turn, drilled through the other arm at the elbow and earned a low shout of pain from Gohan before he could twist away.

Blood rushing from the hole, outfit tattered and crumbling around the Masenko, Gohan felt his anger rise again. It was becoming easier and easier to lose control over it- not fully, but very close. His ki never spiked as dramatically as it once would have, however. He never grew more than 40% stronger than whatever his current form was, Kaioken or no.

The pSSJ transformation had become elusive. Some days he could transform, others not at all regardless of his state of mind. It was maddening, and King Kai would have no way of knowing the effects his bindings on Son Gohans power would have within the Demon Realm.

So many things have simply spiraled away from the way they were meant to be. This dimension, created by the magic of the Kaio and Kaioshin, yet ruled by a Demon and his magic, were at war with the demi-saiyans being. Essentially, if he didn't get out soon, he would be torn apart by it.

His emotional state was the first sign of that occurring, shifting him back and forth. Some days he hated and loathed this place from the deepest of his being, others he knew he must endure it to save the earth- and more, from the threat of Cell.

Again, the pSSJ transformation was the next sign, his powers failing him. Before much longer, Gohan will be more than dead again... he will have ceased to exist as a conscious being, becoming one with the magic saturating the air.

As Gohan dropped down, clutching at his damaged arm, Piccolo landed across from him with a hard look in his eyes. "Get up and keep going. That wound is nothing." he stated flatly. Gohan growled at him as he rolled over onto his knees and pushed up with his good hand.

"Easy to say when you can regenerate any wound!" he accused, clenching his hand into a fist. Neither noticed the red and purple demon watching from the shadows of a jagged hill a few hundred feet away, taking notes on the effects this place was having on the small saiyan. And determining how best he could use that with the knowledge of the future he had gained out of Dabra to his advantage.

* * *

Some distance further away Lord Slug sat before Dabra with a look of incredulity in his eyes. Before him, form twisting around itself like a den of snakes stuffed into a jar, and held beneath a dark red tinted dome of translucent glass, was a dragon mold.

"Is it not within your capabilities? Draw back the power you gave to that planets Dragon Balls and give birth to it here anew." the Demon King ordered. Slug clenched and unclenched his jaw, working the idea over. 'It is possible. What can I gain out of this?' looking back down at the mold he asked "How did you come into possession of this?"

"One of your people created it sixteen generations before I arrived here. A former Demon King dragged the proto-namekian ancestor of yours with him into this dimension and used the magic of this place to reshape and reforge his being in trial, testing the effects on non-god entities." he explained.

"The Kaioshin discovered what had taken place eventually and did what they could to reverse the damage after pulling your ancestor free. The result split his being, with the results of this dimension sitting before me, while their hollowed out cousins reside on one small planet as far less than what they could have been."

Slug had not expected such a response. It left his guard down for a few moments. Dabra used it. "Restore these Dragon Balls to life and take what is rightfully yours. Take revenge against those who limited your races potential." he stated softly.

Slug looked between the two of them, Demon King and slumbering dragon mold, before settling his eyes again on the object before him and began chanting in namekian. A dark green glow began growing around the black dragon as Slug spoke and commanded in his native tongue.

Far and away on earth, the seven Dragon Balls shattered to dust as the energy dwelling within them was drawn back into it's source with an echoing crack heard for miles around.

Within the Demon Realm, that energy reappeared around Slug and sunk beneath his hands and into the dome. Dabra suppressed a smirk at the edge of his lips as the now glowing-white dragon began writhing and a sharp howl emanated from within the glass dome, rising and falling in pitch.

Slugs skin began smoking and darkening as he chanted, the barriers within his mind shattering beneath the magic being wrought and awoken at his command. His eyes turned bloodshot and bulged outward as the howling reached it's fever pitch and the dome shattered, spraying shards of ruby-red glass outward around them.

The white, snake like dragon mold was engulfed in the magic of this dimension and began drawing it inward again, like it had before the sealing took place. After a few moments it's writhing form slithered down and off of its base, revealing the inscriptions used to hold it in place for so long- now turned to stone and rendered null.

Sliding along the ground the dragon mold rose up and revealed it's triangular head, deep-set red eyes aglow just as Slugs now were. Narrow trails of magic began swirling around the two of them until both were obscured from sight, Slug still chanting without control, never stopping despite the shards of glass embedded in his form.

In Other World, the snakeway rumbled violently with the freeing of the dragon mold and crumbled at the edges, before shattering and revealing an underlying layer of black-emerald energy as Slug and the dragon mold melted together into one anothers' essence.

That energy swirled around like a tornado and sharpened into a focal point at the end trailing downward. With the same echoing crack heard on earth, the energy returned to its source.

Dabra stepped back as more of this dimensions magic was drawn inward to the budding dragon and, moments later, a pillar of dark energy shot down from the sky and melded into them, and in the instant it was through a jet of light shot into the air to the boundary of the dimension.

From within the jet a triangular head emerged and began sliding outward into the sky around it, skin returned to the black-emerald it once was, eyes glowing with restored power.

Shards of ruby-red glinted across the scales where Slugs body had previously been wounded by them, black lightning rising up from and rolling across those spots from time to time. The dragon continued to slide forward from within the jet of light and stretch outward for long minutes, until at last the entirety of the Demon Realms sky was filled with its seemingly ever-growing body.

It turned it's massive head down to focus on Dabra far below, and in a low growl that nonetheless spread throughout the Demon Realm, spoke.

"Black-Demon, successor of the traitors throne. You who have awoken and freed the source of my descendants magic, unaware of what it would wrought. Speak thy wish, and have it completed." the voice rumbled with power and restrained fury, unlike that of Shenron or Porungas ever had.

Dabra did allow a smirk to spread across his face at those words. "Oh, I know well what I have wrought, Namekian Elder. Unlike the rest of the universe, the Demon Realm does not forget it's history, and neither does it's line of kings. One wish to complete the cycle started sixteen generations ago and set into motion the events I have longed for." he answered.

Above him the dragons glowing eyes narrowed and a warning rumbled from it's throat. Dabra ignored the warning and continued onward. "Seal back the power of Cell, and vanish from this universe for it." the twin command worked in union with the restrictions the dragon worked under- none.

It and it alone gave the source of magic from which all other dragons in the cosmos took their strength, and from the restrictions that had been placed upon it once split and sealed here sixteen generations prior, so too had limited the strength of those dragons.

Now restored to all of it's might, no wish was beyond it's jurisdiction. No restriction could hold it back- except by manipulating the very power it used, the power from which drove the universe and all within.

The dragons eyes flashed white with rage as its power forced it to obey, and in Other World Cells' form was engulfed in a jet of light. What precisely that would do would be discovered in the time ahead- but the cost of that act followed the second command and before Dabra's very eyes, and the dragon began breaking apart at the edges inward as it's very magic returned back to which it was born of.

The final howl would forever haunt the Demon Realm, however, even after nothing more remained of it in physical or spiritual form.

Dabra threw back his head and laughed from deep within his being as another piece fell into place.

* * *

Several years had passed since Dabra had summoned the original Eternal Dragon, now no more. Much had changed within the Demon Realm since as yet again events unfolded in ways not entirely expected.

To begin with Son Gohan, now nearly an adult and tainted by the darkness of this place he had come to call home, walked through the mass of lesser demons toward Dabra and his former mentor-turned-rival Piccolo. The two of them were arguing lowly and animatedly as the red sky overhead dipped toward pitch-black darkness, a harsh wind picking up.

It amused Gohan to think how Guru's last act- Yugo- had succeeded in breaking Piccolos darkness down into easily handled pieces between the former Kami's personality remnants and Guru's now-added-into-the-mix personality remnants as well.

Even the '"evil'" of the Demon Realm could not influence what was left of it. 'Unlike my own.' he thought with a smile. The crowds of fallen demons and other weaker turned Kaioshin who still survived and worked under Dabra's order parted way for him as he approached. The Demon King himself glanced over at the demi-saiyan and summoned his blade yet again. Gohans smile broadened at that sight.

Piccolo frowned as he faced the young demi-saiyan as well. It disturbed him, now calmer and more rational than when he had first arrived here, to see how their roles seemed to have reversed. The inner darkness of his saiyan wrath and blood lust laying in Gohans heart had awoken from the prolonged magic of this dimension, mostly warping his personality more so than his outward appearance.

Gohan stood slightly taller than his father, black hair streaked through with a permanent dark red tint to it. His face was sharper, no baby-fat or the kindness he once held lining it. His muscles were more defined and stood out than Vegettos closed in and compact style, and his clothing was a mix of jet-black gi similar to what Piccolo usually wore and dark red demonic armor at the shoulders, stomach, and knees.

Eventually Dabra had come to realize how much of a threat to his throne the demi-saiyan was becoming, but even still he knew that Cell would require Gohans help to kill, and the fact that Gohan could also be trapped here while Dabra was still king kept things from growing too far out of hand from either of them over the years.

That didn't prevent the inhabitants here from having thinned considerably since the change truly came into play in Gohan however.

With a sudden one-two step Gohans body broke down into stray fragments of matter and vanished from sight. Dabra slammed his eyes shut as he focused on the demi-saiyans well familiar ki and used his telekinesis to track down which angle he would come from.

His sword tip twirled wildly before settling into place due south- behind him. Dabra spun in place without opening his eyes and brought his sword around to slash, knowing even as he did so from the lack of resistance that Gohan had teleported again as soon as the Demon King found his presence.

"Boo." one hand reappeared, stretched out palm-first toward Dabras eyes as his voice echoed out from several different areas around them. "_Grand Masenko_." red-gold ki spiraled downward from each finger tip and into the palm before exploding outward in a wide arch.

Dabra snarled as the light slashed through the air with an audible hiss, leaving rents behind it that glowed pale and ethereal for long seconds at a time. Unable to dodge in time, the burning light came into contact with the right side of his face and literally melted flesh from bone, boiling the eye away into a liquid beneath the sudden, explosive heat.

Laughter echoed from around them as the hand vanished in the same breaking-down-matter format and all of Gohan reappeared some distance away. "That's another scar, Dabra. Two more and by your own law I've got your throne." he called across, smiling pleasantly as he turned his back on the nearly blind Demon King and Namekian and began pacing away.

Dabra fell to one knee with a howl. He hadn't expected yet another technique from Janembas apprentice. Beside him Piccolo cracked his knuckles, then his neck, and said softly yet firmly "It is high time you decided what to do. Either kill him, or acknowledge him as your successor here. It won't be long before you're dead either way."

Through the blood pouring off his dark white bone where flesh and muscle had been suddenly cut away, Dabra threw his sword at the namekian hilt first, turning his head to stare at him through his partially blinded left eye where a scar ran diagonally across the side of his face through it.

"_Slay the saiyan and earn it first_."

* * *

**Other World, less than a day following Cells arrival on earth again**

Cell himself paced back and forth before King Kai, the North Kaio held in place by the magnitude of Cell's Ki. Around them were the other Kaios. Each stood perfectly still and kept their faces blank, though within their minds each was far less composed.

It didn't take him long to discover what had been taking place once his mind started to put things together. Discovering Kaioshins form missing confirmed it and soon enough Cell had worked his way back through Yenma and King Kai. Now the North Kaio stood on his trial, as Cell, judge jury and executioner prepared to give sentence.

"As Supreme Kai, I find you guilty of acting against the rightful correction of the universe and it's well being." he intoned in a quiet voice, his anger restrained. It did him no good now- the others were out of his grasp, and to release control over it would only set him back once he calmed down and saw the destruction wrought.

"For this betrayal... your punishment is nullification." Cell stated softly as he brought up one hand and infused it with twenty times as much energy as was required to obliterate the North Kaio. King Kai's soul stared upward at his true end, for he no longer had a body-_ that _had collapsed from the strain and died.

A dark yellow glow formed as Cell grunted lowly and thrust it forward, releasing a beam of energy that scorched the soil beneath it black and carried forward off the edge of the planet. The final thought to pass through King Kai's mind before he was erased from existence was that he would have stood by the earths side- and that of the right- again if given the chance.

Eyes narrowed Cell slowly lowered his hand and let out a harsh sigh. "I never expected this to get so far out of hand. Now I have enemies training in two separate dimensions beyond my reach, though soon enough two of them will be mine again. I suppose it is partially my responsibility for not stopping the five of you before now." he said to the others.

The Grand Kai grimaced. 'I should have stepped forward to protect him.' he thought. 'For this failing, I hope you would have forgiven me, my brother.'

Before anything more could be said a jet of light erupted from the ground beneath his feet and engulfed Cell's form. When it faded away his eyes were slightly glazed, and his skin had become paler. Any hints of green that may have remained were gone, replaced with dark purple or black.

He did not stand as tall as he did before, a couple of inches shorter now, but he himself did not notice anything at all. Shaking his head to clear it Cell looked back at them and said, in a slightly higher pitched voice, "Begone from my sight. I have no further need of you insects."

The various glasses or sunglasses they each wore for the most part kept the looks of surprise from showing. Only one looked stunned but it was passed over by Cell as being a sight of fear from his fellow Kaio being utterly annihilated.

Cell himself teleported back to his planet, feeling deeply disgruntled. Kaishin had been changed. A pair of behemoth domes were set on opposite sides of it, one the barracks for the forces of good while the other for the forces of evil. Parts of the land had been ruined and burned and transformed into a miniature replica of Hell below to surround the dome of evil, while the land was mostly left as it had been before Cells arrival for the dome of good.

Any being not yet collected from the universe were dealt with depending on which group would be needed. Cell himself did not dwell in either dome, only visiting when he needed to teleport those within from place to place.

He floated down to a small hill from which two swords rested. One being the blade Kaioshin had wielded while the other was unknown to him and carried with it a dark aura.

For the most part Cell would stand forth and watch over things from there but now he felt it was unbecoming of a Supreme Kai to have not so much as a throne to rest upon. With a disgruntled sigh he tore the Z-Sword from the soil and began carving the hill apart with it, until all that remained was a regal spiraling throne around the other blade with vague allusions to both the Cold Empire and the Kaioshin Dynasties carved into it.

"Hardly worthy, but a start." he stated flatly, stabbing the sword into the back of the throne and sitting down. His mind began to wander over how he had been handling things so far and what he could do to improve upon it.

Yet something kept popping up and disturbing him. After ten minutes he concluded he was bored. Bored with the way things were now being run. He recalled something the Grand Kai had mentioned a while back, a tournament of some kind to keep things interesting for the Kaio.

'Well now, I'll just have to make a tournament worthy to entertain the Supreme Kai.'

* * *

**Room of Spirit and Time, approximately five years after entering**

"Final Kamehameha!" Vegetto called out as he caught Trunks energy blade between two fingers and suffused both hands with abundant amounts of ki. The younger saiyan released his hold of the weapon and allowed it to fizzle out as he brought up both arms before his face and began chanting his own attack.

"Burning Attack!" he called out, hoping to match his fathers attack with his own. Vegetto smirked as he brought his tail around, the tip glowing and released two of the techniques at once. Trunks grunted. 'So he uses _that _strategy today.' he thought. 'Well, two can play that game.'

Throwing himself out of the way of the two beams for a few seconds, Trunks brought his own tail around as he raised both hands and silently commanded his attacks. From one hand the Burning Attack short forth, while from the others he released the Galick Gun.

Some distance away the six year old, and looking more than few years older than that, Kuriza-Trunks watched with his usual disdain. Frieza was laying back and snoring lightly, a bed of ki softening the floor beneath him. Vegetto laughed, both in genuine surprise and pleasure that his future child had learned how to use his tail for ki attacks in secret.

Both saiyans kept their attacks in-range, making sure not to let them escape and run the risk of damaging the other two. Vegetto released his Final Kamehameha, allowing the golden electrically-surged fire-stream to dissipate in order to gather a barrier around his hands again, this time knocking the trio of beams off to the side.

"Well done." he called over before his eyes flashed to a pale blue for an instant, almost purely white yet tinted with that hint of ice blue. Trunks caught the look and replicated it, the Kaioken flashing to life around him as his hair flickered upward with it.

He caught Vegettos punch as the after-image faded away, while Vegettos left knee blocked Trunks kick. They released and met again, once more stalemated several feet away.

Kuriza followed them with his eyes, then closed them and felt for the ki. Sure enough he could more easily track them that way, having gained quite a few skills over the last few years and honed them in nicely under his fathers watch.

With a grunt Vegetto pulled away and tsked. "So much for this." he said before kicking back and away from his son and soaring several dozen feet from him. Trunks let him go and began mentally ticking off the seconds down from sixty, as Vegetto came to a stop and half-closed his eyes, slowing his breathing down.

He focused on his ki and the way it felt to divide it, the effort of will it took to maintain his control over it without exploding, and finally shut his eyes altogether as his body relaxed, slowly calming his beating heart. A couple of seconds later and a burning, jet red aura came to life around his form. Unlike the natural form of Kaioken, this mastered state as he called it was closer to the skin, barely dancing half an inch away from it, and the aura itself was not so wild but calmer, rolling back and forth like the ocean water.

'Still too slow.' Trunks thought as he reached zero and launched into his pSSJ state. With a soft cry he threw himself forward at his fathers relaxed form.

Without opening his eyes Vegetto side-stepped the first punch, ducking his head beneath the sweeping kick that followed it up, and slid smoothly by the next punch without even twisting. His sons eyes narrowed in annoyance, but he silently commanded 'Kaioken times two.'

Even with the amplifying technique in place, Vegetto only had to increase his pace a fraction, dancing back and forth between attacks without even opening his eyes, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. At last he sidestepped the sword brought into play and vanished from sight, reappearing at Trunks back-to-back.

"Well done. We're both improving." he called over his shoulder as he turned to place a hand on Trunks shoulder. The demi-saiyan shrugged and allowed his power to return to normal, letting out a sigh of frustration. "You're jumping ahead rapidly and I'm jogging to keep up." he responded.

Vegetto shrugged in turn. "Your power is too unstable. If I ever transform, I'm sure I'd have trouble maintaining this Mastered Kaioken in it." he stated. Walking back toward the other two Vegetto considered the changeling duo. Ever since learning about Frieza's change in attitude almost five years ago, something had changed within the saiyan as well. Less of Vegeta's smarmy attitude was in control and more of Goku's calmer and happier tone had emerged.

He was actively training, and honing and refining his techniques, something he wouldn't have done before entering this place. He was looking forward to growing stronger and confident he would surpass Kaioshin some day in his base form. Cell, maybe and maybe not. One way or the other, Vegetto was better now than he had been before and he was far stronger for it. The inner balance of his separate halves within had fallen to 43/57, with Vegeta losing most of his dominance over their form.

'Frieza really has proved his value. He's changed since I nearly killed him on Namek all those years ago, and for the better. I'm glad to see that, because I really didn't think he could. As for Kuriza, well... scaly and not so easily intimidated. I'm surprised to see how well the kid is taking this place and the situation, but that look of disdain in his eyes brings back old memories of Vegeta's as a child, being watched with a considering eye by Frieza and his family in the days before Planet Vegeta was destroyed.

Kuriza opened his eyes and noticed the elder saiyan watching him. Raising an eyebrow as though asking, 'what do you want?' the changeling crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. Vegetto let out a sharp laugh as he smiled. "Someday you'll be a considerable threat to the peace of the world. I'm sure Gohan will join up if Chi-chi hasn't been nagging him in Other World back into being a scholar when it happens." he called over in a warm tone.

Kuriza shrugged uncomfortably at that as Frieza gave a low snort and cracked an eyelid open. "Ignore the saiyan, Kuriza-Trunks, you'll be too busy leading the revised Cold Empire to bother with such a back-water planet as this for taking over." he stated in a semi-serious tone.

Trunks himself did not much like the way the trio had grown less hostile toward one another, but it was better than fighting among one another while here. It just felt awkward the way his father treated the other two almost like he would any of the other Z-Fighters.

Vegetto shook his head at Friezas response and turned back to his future son. "Do you think it's time?" he asked in a more serious voice. Trunks considered it. "You've grown far stronger now than before, and so have I. Frieza has taken an astounding leap forward in his own progress. I think _it is_ time we confronted Cell." he answered.

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

Narrator: What did Dabra want with the original Dragon, truly? Did he _really_ only want Cell to be weakened? What the hell happened to Son Gohan after ten years in the Demon Realm? Why does the demi-saiyan want Dabras throne to himself? And what did the wish performed against Cell truly change within him? Keep on reading for the preview, as the Cell era sagas begin winding downward!

* * *

"A tournament?" Vegetto questioned, as though doubting the truth behind it. Cell stared down at him. "Yes, saiyan. Survive and face me. Die and suffer nullification of your existence."

* * *

Son Gohan looked around himself in interest. It had been over ten years since he last breathed fresh air, air not saturated with magic. It was so... refreshing. 'And what do you know. A tournament just after I'm freed.'

Son Gohan: 5'000'000(Base), 50'000'000(Kaioken x10), 400'000'000(+10 years within the Demon Realm base). Lord Slug: 1'600'000(base), Maximum(+Eternal Dragon). Piccolo: 80'000'000(weakened base), 800'000'000(+10 years within the Demon Realm base). Vegetto: 16'000'000(base), 150'000'000(+5 years within RoSaT base), 1'200'000'000(Mastered Kaioken). Kaioshin: Dying. Frieza: 94'000'000(firm-katchin limb set, base), 210'000'000(+5 years within RoSaT base). Teen Trunks: 30'000'000(base), 70'000'000(+5 years within RoSaT base), 560'000'000(pSSJ), 1'120'000'000(pSSJ+x2 Kaioken) . Cell: 900'000'000(base). Krillin: 26'000. Chaozu: 173'000. Tien: 4'000(weakened, dying). Yamcha: 142'000. Grand Kai: 300'500'000. Elder Kaioshin: 106'000'000. Dabra: 720'000'000, 610'000'000(+10 years within the Demon Realm base). Dabras Sword: 610'000'000(weak katchin). Janemba: 700'000(original body/no possession). King Kai: Nullified. Other Kaio: 4000-6000. Dragon: Maximum, Nullified. Kuriza-Trunks: Range of 25'000'000(strength rising with age toward full potential). Fallen Kaioshin: 40% of Maximum. Original Kaioshin: 34-39% of Maximum.


	33. Chapter 32

A/n: Thank you for the reviews J.W. Appel :D I hadn't considered that but I'll see what I can do with the present Bulma in the future chapters. She may be most helpful in the time ahead for solving a problem I've been contemplating. And yes, Buu will indeed be showing up in this story. As I said in my profile, the Buu Saga is already underway in the originally-posted format on another site and I'm slowly catching the story up here.

* * *

**Demon Realm**  
Piccolo walked through the desolate sands cropped up around the outside of the now-opened-roof palace Dabra had taken for himself, the demon kings sword held heavily in his right hand. He had resigned himself to the task at hand. Just like all of the other miserable creatures this realm had claimed, so to had Son Gohan fallen.

Despite the fact that the demi-saiyan would have essentially been dead- forever, nullified from existence as it was known- without Janembas teachings several years ago, it may very well have been better than what had instead become of him. The two powers, that of a kaio on the inside and that of the black magic both on the outside and trying to work it's way inside, had town him apart most literally.

It was only the matter teleportation technique Janemba had drilled into Gohan that prevented his form from becoming a gooey mess scattered to the winds. Instead he had shattered apart and faded from sight to reform some hours later, changed. The gentle, kind-and-weary-hearted demi-saiyan with more of his human side showing through had been lost to the inner primal saiyan slumbering at his center, the focal point behind his berserkers rage and strength dwelling there.

Ultimately, Piccolo reasoned, the fault could be placed at a dozen different sources. 'Whatever part of the original Daimou that caused Kami to split from him in the first place. Without my cells, Cell itself, would never have been able to regenerate and this could have been so much easier. If I had remained Kami atop my little palace, Dr. Gero would have never known I existed. Whatever wounds Vegetto and the Kaioshin could cause would be enough to stop Cell from becoming the current threat and prevented the Demon Realm from even being needed.'

'And Gero himself... when this is all over, I'll be seeing to it that man suffers for his crime and eradicate the Cell being created as it is.' his thoughts occupied much of his mind as he walked through the paths leading around to Janembas cavern. Gohan would be there now, and yes, approaching, the namekian can see the demi-saiyan in apparent conversation with the imprisoned demon.

Janemba lay trapped behind a transparent barrier, his limbs cut off with his own sword, which lay in several pieces as the ward boundary around which kept his torso separated from Gohan. As Piccolo grew closer Janembas eyes narrowed to thin slits and glanced past the demi-saiyan.

Gohan let out a soft sigh and turned partially to take in the sight of his rival. "Well, well. An old friend deems us worthy of his presence. Consider us honored, _Gumiccolo_." he called over while a dozen feet still separated them, using the name of the three namekians that had merged together.

Piccolo shook his head, unfazed by the annoying name, and responded "You know why I am here. I wish it did not have to be this way, Gohan." the demi-saiyan shrugged one shoulder casually and answered him. "The old Gohan wouldn't have been capable of fighting Cell- you'd prefer me _dead again_, Gumiccolo?"

Piccolo shrugged in turn. "Compared to the creature you have become.." his voice trailed off as he stopped only a few feet away. Gohan shook his head dismissively. "Take Dabras sword and leave me alone, Gumiccolo. I respect you as a powerful fighter that contributed to the being I have become, but I will not extend the warning again." turning away from the namekian he once more began speaking with Janemba in a low tone.

Piccolos eyes narrowed as the arm wielding the blade extended and came at Gohan from the left side. Gohan grunted in annoyance as the blade pierced him just between the ribs and pressed all the way to the hilt against his side as the tip came out the other side.

The namekian wasn't expecting that. Gohan grimaced as he turned around to face his old mentor, the middle section of his body where the blade pierced gone and the rest vanishing as he turned, leaving the sword hanging there in mid-air. "Bad move." he stated as the sword twisted up to slash through his upper body.

Each section vanished accordingly to reform after the weapon passed through it. A bead of sweat dripped down the back of the demi-saiyans neck from the concentration this level of control required, but the effect was well worth it. Piccolos mouth hung open in surprise for a moment before he brought his other hand up and released the Hellzone Grenade at nearly point blank range.

The explosions tore the sword and most of Piccolos arm with it away to crash into the barrier holding Janemba at bay, his dark blood evaporating beneath the heat.

A low tsk came from the smoke as a dramatic ki rolled upward and swept it away, revealing Gohan with one arm dangling at his side and blood dripping from it in several places, rolling down his finger tips to fall to the sand and dirt below. It wasn't broken, but the damage was still enough to keep it resting rather than try moving around. "_Is that the best you can do?_" he questioned simply, a cold smile on his face that did not quite meet his eyes. Piccolo teleported several paces away as a low _sknit _filled the air, his arm regrowing in a moment.

"Don't bother dodging, Piccolo. _Kame_.. _hame_.." Gohan began chanting the attack, drawing his hand back toward one hip as orange fire grew to life in the palm with a pale hint of green tinting the middle. Piccolo caught the correct use of his name and felt his blood freeze for a moment. The demi-saiyan hadn't referred to him by it since the change. Before him the afterimage faded away in that moment, and then he felt the ki behind it reappear at his back.

The corrupted, twisted form of the Hellzone Kamehameha rushed forward at his back even as he twisted his body to the side, a section cutting right through his ribcage and detonating. A groan escaped the namekian as he was torn in two, the remnants of his legs from the mid-knee and down somehow surviving with bone scorched black and flesh and muscle burned closed.

His upper body was missing the left section entirely, bone revealed along the side of his skull. Gohan grunted as he flexed his fingers a few times. "Not bad. More of you endured than I expected from this range." he stated as Piccolos torso fell to the ground. Even from the heat of the attack, blood seeped through to pool around him, and the pain was nearly unimaginable.

"It's over, Piccolo. You failed." with a dismissive gesture Gohan fell to the ground and approached the namekian. Some how Piccolo managed to concentrate long enough, and the air was filled with the sound of several _sknits_ as bone regrew wrapped in flesh and muscle. It was paler than the flesh surrounding it, however.

Shaking his head Gohan chanted "Grand Masenko." Piccolo rolled to his hands and knees and managed to push upright, good arm stretching out behind him to snatch Dabras sword and drag it forward. The spiraling ki bled down into Gohans palm before rushing out.

Piccolo barely managed to bring the sword around in time to slice it in two before a low crackle of thunder pierced the sky and the rumble that followed it sent shock-waves across the air to crash into the ground.

Demi-saiyan and namekian were shoved into the sand as a sharp pitched howl swept through the air originating at the palace where Dabra had been left. The sword in Piccolos hand crackled and burned before falling to pieces before him. Another shock-wave forced the surprised namekian down as Gohan managed to push against it and look off in the direction of the palace. His form broke apart after several seconds and trailed away to thin air.

When he reappeared, Gohan saw Dabra's form had collapsed against one wall and was breathing sharply. "So.. you've come..." the demon king panted as he felt the ki rather than see who it was. Gohan did not answer. "Your emissary lost. You're dying. So what's it going to be, Dabra? Who will you proclaim the next Demon Lord in your place?" he questioned instead.

Dabra twitched and managed to turn his body to face the voice. "You'll never.. claim... my throne..!" he managed to growl out. Gohan clenched his good hand into a fist. Before he could react Piccolo managed to teleport in, his power raised as high as he could still push it should he need to strike again.

"You failed..." Dabra snarled, sight gone entirely at this point. "Not yet." Piccolo responded flatly, watching the demi-saiyan across from him. Gohan still did not move, though he was considering precisely what course of action would get him out of here at last.

All of it, the attacks against Dabra and the challenge to take his throne someday, were to be freed from this dimension again. If the demon king died now without proclaiming anyone, the empty seat of power would go to the next whole-demon. Of course, he could simply slaughter his way through those that remained until there was only one, but that one would have a fair amount of power over him, more so than even Dabra still held.

If no whole-demons were left alive here, then there would be no king at all. It wouldn't transfer over to himself or Piccolo, that was for sure. They would be trapped here until a Kaioshin decided to check in, and by the time that happened, he would be well and truly dead a thousand times over.

A sudden thought occurred to him. It was hardly simple, but ironic, and for a few moments Gohan doubted himself. Then he side stepped Piccolo with the Kaioken, grabbed the demon king and teleported away to initiate freedom.

* * *

**Kaishin/Kaioshins Planet  
**Having studied the architecture of the tournament grounds on the Grand Kais planet, Cell returned to his own and began using the Z-Sword and ki-blasts to carve the land apart as needed or use the kaios to summon the raw materials, until within an hours time since coming upon the idea a satisfying battle field lay stretched out beneath his throne, allowing Cell to oversee everything from above. It would have been sooner if he hadn't revised the design once or twice along the way.

At the four edges of the actual platform where the fights would take place- north, south, east, and west- spiraling pillars of black metal interlaced with ki jutted up from the soil close to a hundred feet. Between them and overhead a solid barrier formed to keep any fighter within the field actually inside, thereby removing any chance of a ring-out.

The platform itself was not squared as might be expected, but diamond shaped, with diamond weaved-pattern panels spread out across it in a strange metal- katchin, Cell had been told by the Grand Kai. It would ensure the panels could not be broken and, in the process, that being sent to the floor would actually harm a fighter.

No stands exist around the platform, for the entertainment is meant for Cell, not those beneath him.

The first stage of his goal accomplished, Cell paused to consider who would be worthy of fighting in his tournament. After several seconds cycling through the known forces available on the planet, he narrowed the selection down considerably. In his mind, only two stood any chance at all of competing against the Z-Fighters.

Now it was time to start bringing the fighters forward.

* * *

**Earth**  
Vegetto stepped out into the cool air outside of the Room of Spirit and Time for the first time in probably five years. He glanced back inside to see his younger self staring back at him, and flashed a grin before shutting the door. "I don't remember you doing that last time." Trunks stated.

Vegetto turned to his son. "I doubt it's a problem. It's not like something that small is going to cause a ripple in time." he responded simply, while behind him Frieza snorted. "Just like a saiyan to risk the fabric of time and space so easily." he murmured softly, but it carried no tone of malice or the like, more a jab of slightly pointed humor.

The elder saiyan didn't answer him though his grin broadened at the edges. Trunks shook his head and began heading in the direction leading out into open air again. The others trailed after him a few moments behind.

When they emerged a few minutes later Cells form appeared from mid-air before them. It took a moment for the altered appearance of their enemy to sink in, and in that moment he flared out his ki. Both saiyans responded in kind, amplifying their strength to stand against his own and not be pushed around by it.

His eyes narrowed to thin slits at their actions but he resisted the urge to strike them down for it. Where it came from he wasn't quite sure. "Back from a year training, I see." he stated flatly. Trunks gathered ki to one hand and formed it into a blade, sliding into an easy-to-react poised-for-striking stance as Vegetto frowned. "Something like that, _Cell_." he spoke the name like a curse as his smile faded away entirely.

"Your time for due revenge is swift approaching, _saiyans_." he responded in kind. "But for now, I may not be your executioner." he added. "What are you talking about?" Trunks demanded. Cells eyes glanced to him sharply for a few moments before setting back on his father.**  
**

"A tournament of the strongest fighters in the universe." Cell responded. "A tournament?" Vegetto questioned, as though doubting the truth behind it. Cell stared down at him. "_Yes_, _saiyan_. Survive and face me. Die and suffer _nullification of your existence_." he answered.

"I'll take that chance. Where?" the elder saiyan demanded. He may have had more of Goku's gentle personality in control, but the monster before him had killed King Kai- and worse, possibly- and caused so much suffering for the peoples of the universe.

"My planet, the Kaishin." Cell answered him. "It begins in one hour." with that he vanished just as he had appeared, an unwitting plot device to convey a message easily.

Once he was gone, the others relaxed. Kuriza-Trunks, floating slightly behind his father with narrowed eyes. "That's Cell? That small ki is what has everyone so worried? Elder Brother and his father trump that!" he stated dismissively, slightly affronted that the great monster he had heard about was already less than expected.

Trunks turned his head slightly to one side to answer the changeling. "Don't get your hopes up. Cell can amplify his strength with the Kaioken too, and his is a hell of a lot stronger in base form without any other modifications to it." Kuriza's eyebrows rose in curiosity before he nodded his head. "Maybe we'll get to see a good fight after-all." he added softly to himself and his father.

Frieza shrugged. "A universe ruled by an abomination containing my cells is unacceptable. I may not be of the same level of control with you saiyans, but do not expect me to sit by the sidelines. These limbs have yet to find a ki attack they couldn't shatter or divide." he called over to Vegetto and Trunks.

Vegetto simply nodded his head. "I was hoping you'd say that. It'd be useful to have your old sword on hand, Trunks, but you said Kaioshin took it from you when you came back?" he asked his son. "Yeah. We'll just have to do what we can without it."

* * *

**Demon Realm, approximately five minutes after Piccolo and Gohan's battle within**  
Three figures appeared in a nearly pitch-black room made of metal and stone, each material blending together in some strange mesh of the two so that sections flowed into and through one another. Blood, long since dried, marked the walls and the stench of rotten flesh was ni-overpowering.

Blazing heat suffused the room and amplified the smell. Held in place with chains piercing the cloud-like substance was Kaioshins soul. His bones lay in so many pieces along the floor and walls, no more flesh to adorn them, and his voice echoed out along the walls in pain, a torn, guttural sound.

Son Gohan was forced into a bowed over position from the low ceiling and Dabra scrunched up even tighter along the floor. Janembas torso hung loosely in the demi-saiyans good hand. Having made a side-trip to bring his mentor along with them, Gohan came to the one figure he knew would be able to set them free.

It had been years since he had even heard of this place, the six cubes where Dabra housed true enemies once his soldiers had finished tearing the body to shreds. Gohan was too valuable to the cause to be placed here, and even if Dabra had tried, he would need to successfully bring the demi-saiyan down into a state of weakness before he could be placed here.

Sweat rolled down Gohans face as he glanced around in the darkness. The only light came from Kaioshins soul. With a grunt he narrowed his eyes on the chains and a sharp snap filled the air as one by one his _kiai _cut through them. Trapped in agony for so long, Kaioshin did not notice when he drifted to the ground beneath him.

"You know what you have to do." Gohan told Janemba. The demons eyes were long-since narrowed and he let out a hiss of frustration. Indeed, he knew well what he had to do. Dabra was so focused on the knowledge foretold by the Dai Kaioshin however many millions of years prior it had been that he never took note of the subtle changes that had cropped up.

The future was hardly set in stone. It could be altered, especially in dimensions where natural time and space became warped. It was already too late for Dabra to succeed, for Janemba to succeed.. alive. _Dead_ was another subject altogether.

With a grimace his eyes flared widely before succumbing to ash, the same happening to the rest of his body. That ash was scattered with a sudden wind and en-coated the room around him, wrapping around ravaged bones lining the walls and floor. Once settled into place it began melting into a black, oozing slime. Evil itself, the material of which Janemba could manifest himself through.

_The same as the evil drained from souls in hell before they would become reincarnated. _Gohan watched the act of semi-sacrifice as the slime expanded and wrapped around Kaioshins tortured soul. The deity's screams grew in pitch and Gohan had to raise one hand to his ear and turn the other to the wall to try and block it out.

Within minutes the slime solidified and a darker skinned, black-blue clothed form Gohan recognized from long ago stood before him, slightly hunched over in the cramped space. Black sweat dripped off his skin as his face was locked into a twisted shout, the eyes clenched tightly shut, and for several seconds veins bulged outward along his forehead and hands, stale yellowed hair rising up into the air around him with his ki.

Gohan had to raise his own power level again to keep from being pushed around by it. Dabra, unable to resist, was forced down into the floor where the heat originated from. Finally the darker, almost poisoned ki, evened out and the eyes opened up before them. Gohan smirked at the rage barely contained behind them, before Kaioshin brought up both hands before his face and shouted in his own language.

White light washed out over Kaioshins own body, engulfing it, seeping into the pores and running down his open mouth, slipping through his ears and nostrils. Black smoke rose up from the body as his ki began rising and falling erratically. For close to ten minutes a struggle between Kaioshin and Janemba took place, each attempting to take control over the body. In the end, the magic dwelling in the deity's bones and soul overpowered the evil that had manifested the body.

The white light faded away as Kaioshin slumped to his knees, clear sweat rolling off his body and soaking his clothing, skin returned to its natural shade. Strands of his hair and all of his clothing remained dark, however. Gohans smirk had faded when the struggle began. This was not how he had intended things to go, but it could still work out.

Kaioshins head tilted backwards to stare at the dark creature before him. "..." words could not escape his battered throat, but the gleam in his eye conveyed a sense of forewarning. 'Due justice will be dealt to the ones responsible for my time here.' he thought in a dull rage. He directed his gaze slowly to the Demon King beside him.

Without even trying for words he thrust out his mind and pierced the weak defenses Dabra had in place, tearing through everything until he found the place he needed. Dabras body twitched and jumped as a result of Kaioshins brutal mental assault- far from the tenderness he had bestowed on Guru, Frieza or even his future counterpart had to Son Trunks.

A white light washed over Dabras body from one of Kaioshins hands, but unlike in the past, the skin beneath it blistered and smoked. If Dabra could have voiced his protest he would have. Instead he felt every burn in silent agony. Where the light passed the skin began to darken and crack after several moments until at last it fell away altogether. Despite this his health was brought back from the brink of death the closer the light grew to his heart and brain.

At last Kaioshin drew out from Dabras mind with his work completed, and the light faded from his butchered form. Just as Kaioshin had been left a cripple, so to had the Demon King; a torso and head, disfigured yet healthy and alive. "As Demon King of the Fallen Prison, the heir to my throne I so proclaim should I show weakness in my duties, Son Gohan shall you slay me and gain control of this realm?" the words spoken were dull, forced from his lips, yet they held meaning.

Gohans eyebrows rose upward in surprise as a shiver ran down his spine from the pact being created. "So I do." he responded, dark green ki gathering to his good hand. "Masenko!" raising it upward to his forehead, Gohan slid forward and thrust the sphere down into Dabras chest. Blood, guts, and bone exploded out into the room.

Outside another crackle of thunder roared to life throughout the rest of the Demon Realm and Gohan collapsed to his stomach as power was placed upon his shoulders. It was a physical weight and one that he hadn't expected. He suddenly knew things he should not, ways in which magic could be manipulated through him to alter the realm, control over the flow of times speed within.

"Ungh." grunting, Gohan looked up at Kaioshin as he willed the armor on his form into clothing and pushed up to one knee, red-gold ki swirling to life at his damaged shoulder and forming into a replica of Janembas blade in a sheath of cloth formed for it.

'Why the hell didn't Dabra use the magic of this place to combat me if he had it at his disposal?' he demanded silently of the dead demon. Kaioshin watched silently as Gohan rose to his feet. "Heal me." he stated plainly. The deity's eyebrows met in anger. Gohan laughed at him for a couple of moments. "I'm on damn equal footing with you right now, and I'm the one who says who comes and who goes from this realm. Heal me and I'll considering letting you out as well." he stated plainly, a grin spreading across his face.

Kaioshins eye widened before a sharp pain lanced through Gohans mind and sent him reeling to the floor, raising up his good hand to his skull with a low shout. 'You _**dare**_ mock me, the rightful _final god_ of the universe? _Corrupted_ and _twisted_ as you are, _brought low_ before the temptation of _blackest power_?' Kaioshins voice rang out in his mind like a quiet rustle of wind, sharply cutting through all objects in it's focus.

"Nngh!" 'Get.. out!' Gohan attempted to shout at him. Whatever power was bestowed on him from this realm could do nothing to protect his mind. Gohans body lurched to one side as he arched his back, sudden pain flowing through his nerve endings as Kaioshin repeated the same actions against the demi-saiyan as he had to Dabra- barely less damaging.

The Supreme Kai began sifting through his memories of recent events in order to learn what he had missed and how long had truly passed, for it had seemed centuries to him. 'Sickening.' he thought as he came to the corruption of Son Gohan. 'You wish to be a monster from the quiet child you once were?' he demanded of Gohan.

The demi-saiyan struggled to respond. 'I.. never.. wanted..' 'SILENCE.' Kaioshin interrupted. He continued forward, learning much and coming to a conclusion. '_You were the next in line_. Goku passed down the genetic trait into you to become a Super Saiyan, even with your human side interfering you had the potential to draw it forward. Instead you replaced your diluted saiyan heritage with demonic influence and lost the power slumbering in your DNA.' he stated near the end.

Shaking his head, Kaioshin placed one hand on Gohans form and teleported them out to where Piccolo was waiting. The namekian gave a start at the reappearance and stopped in his pacing. "Kaioshin?" he asked in surprise. 'Piccolo.' Kaioshin thought in response, sending enough power to get it across. Piccolo bowed his head in respect toward the Supreme Kai.

He picked the demi-saiyan up and threw him to Piccolo, then dove back into Gohans mind and forced the words from his lips needed. Gohan spoke against his will as he intoned "As heir to the Fallen Prison, I do so proclaim my rule unworthy of the seat I own and bestow upon the next in line this title of Demon King, Piccolo Daimou."

The throne passed from one to another faster than it ever had before, but for the first time in it's history, the previous king did not die to succeed an heir. Piccolo fell forward much like Gohan had as the weight of responsibility came unto him. "Nngh... why?" he gasped.

'A grave error corrected, and so that when I tear this saiyans soul apart, you and I will still be able to leave.' Kaioshin stated flatly in his mind, abandoning Gohans briefly. Piccolo grimaced. "Can you do _nothing_ to revert him?" he questioned. Kaioshins eyes narrowed. 'That's precisely what I'm going to do. Just as my ancestors did to your proto-namekian ancestor millennium ago.'

* * *

**Kaishin, approximately one hour after Cells' arrival at Kami Palace**  
Cell had found himself facing off against someone he had thought dead. In a sense, he still was. After dropping the Z-Fighters off by the platform he had gone to retrieve the Kaio and the others to fight before him.

What he found was his brother Kaioshin laying in wait and wielding two swords, launching into a furious assault and attempting to cut him limb from limb. Were it not for the Kaioken, Cell very well may have been cut to pieces.

Instead he knocked the swords aside, knocked the other Supreme Kai out- for he would dearly enjoy seeing how far he would advance in this tournament once awoken inside the platforms barriers- and found the other two arrivals surprisingly willing to go along with the idea.

He hardly recognized the saiyan at Piccolos side. The face gave him an impression of Bardock, with some similarities to Son Goku if the memories inherited from Frieza were any good. But it looked a little different as well. He would have supposed it Son Gohan if not for the age difference. 'Raditz, perhaps?' had passed through his mind at the time.

Soon enough, however, and things were underway. Floating up to his throne over seeing the battle field, Cells voice rang out over the fighters beneath him. "You are here to compete for the chance of your survival. Those who lose will be nullified from existence- completely eradicated to such a degree that not even the Dragon Balls could revive you. Whoever wins the end earns the chance to fight against me. I know several here who would like to see me undone."

He paused for a few moments to let that sink in. "Fear not for your lives just yet, however. No one shall be nullified until the end of my tournament, the tenbatsu-budokai- Heaven's judgment tournament. A fitting name, considering _I AM_ heaven's judgment. I am the judgment of the universe whole. And believe me, little insects, when I say that you will not survive the tenbatsu-budokai. _No one among you can match me_." smiling coldly and condescendingly down upon them all, he clapped his hands twice and sat down.

"_Step forward onto the platform as I speak your name. Only one shall leave it conscious_." For those who had been brought here for a while the words of Cell were unchallenged, absolute. For the Z-Fighters, it was another matter altogether. Frieza huffed indignantly. "Awfully full of himself. _'I AM HEAVEN_'?" he mocked, a sneer on his face. "Sounds rather like you did in the beginning, Frieza." Vegetto murmured less loudly.

The cyborg turned to face him sharply but paused in mid-response. He closed his mouth, considering his words for a few moments, then conceded the point. "Very well." he stated. There were so many gathered that neither Piccolo nor Gohan had been seen by them yet, and it was likewise on the other twos part.

It was only after half an hour and the lesser warriors had been eliminated that they began to take note of one another. Piccolo approached after his match. "So. I see your fighting style has changed, Vegetto." he greeted calmly, wary of the attitude he expected.

Vegetto smiled at him. "And more than that, Piccolo. I can sense something has taken place within you as well. All good once again? Not quite thirsting for my blood in a goblet these days?" he asked with good humor despite the mood around them. Piccolo shrugged. "Guru and Kami have become true aspects of myself. I am a balanced namekian. Your son, however..." he trailed off as Gohan entered the field.

"Trunks?" he questioned, before his eye brows rose and he looked around them. "_Gohan_." be stated in sudden remembrance. Piccolo nodded his head up to the stage. "The Kaio modified his mind to keep his powers in check on the way to the Demon Realm. The black magic in the Demon Realm took a war against the Kaios. He became warped, and worse. It's been eleven long years, Son Vegetto. Kaioshin finally gained a new body and... well. The result of his actions to revert Gohan can be seen before you. Up there."

By the time he finished speaking Gohan was already descending back among the thinned out crowd. "_Gohan_!" Vegetto called across in worry. His son paused a step, glanced over to him, then shook his head no and returned to where he had been standing silently, head angled downward. Vegetto frowned.

"What happened to him? What did Kaioshin do now?" he asked sharply. Piccolo grimaced. "He tore the core aspects of the twisted form of Gohan apart and separated them from the original aspects. His magic, as well. Since his saiyan side was awoken as a result of the Demon Realm it was split away from his human side." Piccolo paused, considering just how to put this into words.

Vegetto turned to face him, expression becoming dark. "... The risk was too great to allow the full power he held to remain with him as it was. A small portion was re-introduced into his system, but Son Gohan is more human than saiyan any more. No trace of the demon magic that corrupted him has remained behind." Piccolo said.

What he didn't mention was the sword hanging at Gohans back had been suffused with it all instead. So long as Gohan had the blade in his hands, he could restore his strength, confidence, and dark personality. It wasn't much of a pleasant thought, but the weapon would be sealed away with the others on this planet after Cell was killed.

The elder saiyans fists clenched. "Another of Kaioshins damned decisions..." he murmured. "Tell me just what happened while you were in the Demon Realm. From the beginning." he added in a louder voice.

* * *

A short time later and the rest of the fighters had been narrowed down to ten. Half of them Z-Fighters. The first in the line up was Vegetto against a green-skinned figure that reminded him of Piccolo in some ways, whose name he recalled to be Pikkon.

The saiyan was still angry, but he couldn't even feel the strength of the enemy. 'Suppressed down to zero, then.' he thought.

Pikkon's expression was a slight frown as his eyes roamed over the other warrior, picking up his high battle strength, and he gave a slight nod in greeting and apology before he stepped up onto the platform. Vegetto blinked and returned the nod as he too stepped up onto it and the barriers were activated.

Above them, Cell rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He was hardly impressed so far by the prior matches. "Son Vegetto of the Northern Galaxy, versus Pikkon of the West Galaxy. A worthy encounter at last." he called down. The saiyans eyes glanced up to him sharply. Ultimately it was Cell responsible for the state of his son. Kaioshin had merely attempted to fix him. He intended to give a few choice words to Kaioshin when next they met never the less.

Pikkon watched the foe calmly, arms resting lightly by his sides. 'He is too distracted. Distraught for some reason. A very unfortunate situation and time to be so.' he thought. 'I'll finish this in a single strike.' When Vegetto returned his sight to the other alien, Pikkon raised one foot and used it to kick off the ground at a tilt sharply.

His body rotated in the air as he soared forward, gathering air around him as he picked up speed. Vegetto had no time to side-step before he was caught and slammed in the middle of the chest, stumbling backwards as Pikkon surged by him and abruptly halted his spin.

The air that had gathered was left as a tornado focused on the saiyan. "It's over." Pikkon stated dispassionately, back turned on his foe. The wind sliced at Vegettos skin and his chest hurt like hell, the bone slightly cracked in where one of Pikkons fists had drilled into it. He grimaced, keeping a grunt of pain withheld, and turned to his opponent. "_Not yet it isn't_." he responded lowly.

'Can't find the time to focus. Gonna need to use the basic form.' Silently he commanded the Kaioken to activate high enough to surpass the other alien and the usual burning red aura flared to life around him. Pikkons eyes widened and he turned back to face the foe he had assumed had fallen. He did not anticipate other user capable of amplifying their strength. "Final Ka... me.. ha.. me..." Vegetto chanted, hands at his side and clenched into fists as a golden glow began emanating from around them.

Pikkon brought up his own hands and called out "Continuous Energy Bullets!" a series of ten blasts of ki shot out of each hand, followed by another ten, and ten more. Vegetto tucked his upper body into the lower as he ducked down to the left side, rolling along the ground and out of the way of the first shots and snapped back up to his feet, hands thrust out to the side.

The ki gathered in place erupted into full sized orbs and the saiyan wasted no time in slamming his hands together at the base of each palm, "Hah!" fire and lightning crackling around one another and blending into one as a stream of energy. Pikkon directed his aim around and brought the next so many blasts to bare.

The smaller attacks were bluntly knocked aside beneath the strength of the stream, and Pikkon smiled a fraction. 'Stronger than I thought.' Briefly increasing the amount of shots coming from his hands as he began leaping backwards toward the edge of the platform, Pikkon suddenly cut them off and focused a large quantity of his remaining energy to his hands.

Vegettos Finale Kamehameha surged forward across the distance in just over a second and a half. "**Thunder Flash Attack**!" Pikkon boomed as flames twice the size of his body erupted from his fists with hardly a split-second to spare. The two attacks crashed into one another in a flash of gold and red lightning.

The flames began pushing the stream backward as Pikkon pushed more energy into it. Sweat gathered on Vegettos face and dripped down to the platform beneath his feet. "Kaioken... times.. five!" he grunted out, the aura intensifying as white sparked to life in it, his hair flickering upward and eyes flashing with ice blue light for a fraction of a second.

The stream took over lost ground rapidly. Pikkon swallowed. 'No choice. _Blazing Shoot_!' he commanded silently. Unlike the Kaioken, no visible aura or change took place to Pikkons form. His body simply tripled it's raw ki output, raised his physical strength and durability, amplified his speed. It would burn him out after a full minutes time, but he could cut it on and off at a moments notice.

His flames grew thicker and darker as they pushed forward and not only out-right halted the Kamehameha, but began pushing it back again faster than before. The strain on Vegettos face began to take note as his chest bone cracked further. Slowly he brought his tail around one shoulder and ordered the same technique "Final.. Ka.. me.. ha.. me.. hah!" the unexpected beam shot forward at Pikkons face.

He couldn't move without canceling out his attack. His eyes grew wide once again just before he clamped them shut and was struck in the face. It exploded with intense heat, sizzling the skin and drying out his eye balls even through the lids. His clothing burned away around the neck and shoulders.

His concentration was lost and the strength of his Blazing Shoot and Thunder Flash Attack faltered. Vegettos main Final Kamehameha over powered the flames and crashed into the other aliens body, driving a roar of pain from his lips. The Kaioken vanished just before the attack made contact, however, greatly drawing back it's power to keep from killing Pikkon unneeded.

Panting from the exertion and leaning over, Vegetto watched as the smoke cleared and Pikkon was left clutching at one exposed shoulder. His entire upper clothing was gone and at least two layers of flesh were burnt away. His face was bruised and blackened, one eye melted away altogether, but his ki was still well above zero.

"Damn..." Vegetto muttered, preparing his next Kaioken. Through blistered lips Pikkon grunted "Thunder Flash Attack!" Vegetto threw himself to the side- and found the attack coming from a hand outstretched in that direction as well, the one from before faltering as Pikkon adjusted his body.

"!" The saiyan crossed his arms before his face as he commanded "_Kaioken times three_!" to bring him back up to par with the enemy. Throwing himself forward into the flames with a grimace, Vegetto pushed forward and grabbed a hold of Pikkons left hand before the foe could stop him, gripping it in both hands and twisting. A low snkit declared the flesh tearing and bone breaking outward with a rush of blood.

Pikkons face screwed up in a concentrated effort to swallow his shout of pain as he brought his other hand around and released his Continuous Energy Bullets again. Vegettos body bulged outward as they slammed into him, but baring his teeth against the pain he reached past the broken wrist to the elbow and snapped it as well. Pikkons eyes narrowed to thin slits and a hiss of pain escaped him as he brought up a knee and suddenly kicked Vegetto in the side of the head harshly.

The saiyans body swung to the side as he fell to the ground, but his grip remained firm on Pikkons arm, dragging him down as well. Blood and skin fell to the katchin floor beneath them from the saiyans chest and stomach. Pikkon winched as most of his weight landed on his broken arm.

Taking a moment to push through, Vegettos fingers crawled up to the shoulder. Pikkon grunted and threw one knee directly into Vegettos chest. A low crack announced the shattering of bone completely, and the saiyans head rolled back to howl at the sky in pain, but his pupils vanished altogether. With a primal shout he tore the Pikkons bone out of the socket- and with it Pikkons entire arm, and threw the limb against the barrier.

Pikkon screamed in pain. Vegetto didn't hear him. Out in the crowd, Trunks felt a shiver of remembrance roll down his spine as memories of the first time his father died flickered to the forefront of his mind. 'He's reacting on instinct. But his body hasn't transformed yet. What's going on here?' the demi-saiyan thought, recognizing the signs of a Pseudo-Super Saiyan transformation attempting to take place.

Pikkon managed to roll out and away from the saiyan, panting, and push up to one knee. Vegetto turned toward him slowly. His breath escaped in sharp, shallow bursts. Pikkon screamed out another "_Thunder Flash Attack_!" and unleashed the flames straight against the saiyans body, engulfing him.

A sudden gust of wind exploded from where the flames bathed Vegettos form, repulsing them, as the saiyan rose up from the ground into a semi-hunched over form. Rage and clarity flowed through his mind together. From Goku came clarity. From Vegeta came rage.

The pain was a side note at this point as he shot forward, appearing before Pikkon and extending a kick to the chin that sent him spiraling up into one the pillars. The aliens eye was flat and broken, unconscious before he hit the metal structure, and he collapsed to the ground fifty, sixty feet beneath him harshly. His body crumpled like a tin can in a crusher on impact.

Clapping broken the silence that followed as Cell stood up, staring down at the full-blooded saiyan below him. Vegettos head tilted around slowly to stare at him as the barriers faltered. "A good match up, Son Vegetto. Very entertaining, oh yes. Move onward now and allow our next guests the platform." he commanded in a mocking tone.

Sharper rage burned through Vegettos blood, and he seriously considering rushing the abomination for a few seconds, then rose into the air and returned to where the other fighters waited. He had finally become a Pseudo-Super Saiyan at last in this fused body.

* * *

Kaioshin awoke to find himself on stage, with the namekian standing across from him calmly. "Piccolo." he growled. "It took you long enough to wake up. If I didn't bring you up here Cell was going to destroy you again. You understand what that means." he stated.

The Supreme Kai slowly pushed up to his feet and turned his attention to Cell above, who smiled darkly down at him and gave a slight incline of the head. Kaioshin narrowed his eyes in preparation to unleash a mental assault and found Cells eyes closed before a connection could be made.

"It would be wise of you, brother, to fight the foe before you rather than the one standing in the stars far above you." Cell called down. Kaioshin growled. "His time will come, Kaioshin. Until then we must prepare. If that means fighting, than so be it. I swore to surpass and kill you so long ago, and now that I've become so strong I find it almost sad that I now have to fight you." Piccolo called over to the Supreme Kai.

Kaioshin swung around to face him and found his anger brimming to the surface again. He had changed from his time in the Demon Realm. He was quicker to anger and striking out. All of these mortals, so far beneath him, constantly challenging his divine authority and word... "So be it. Suffer for your attitude! For your audacity to surpass your god!" Kaioshin swore, finding his voice easier.

Thrusting forward he delivered a kiai that Piccolo guarded against. "I've got over three hundred million more ki than you do, Kaioshin. This is why I find it sad to fight you now. I can still raise my strength even higher. You can not win this match, no matter how hard you fight." he called over.

The Supreme Kais mind stabbed into his own, having been there before, and sent Piccolo to his knees while clutching at his head. "Grrng.. not.. enough.." pushing back against the invading mental assault, Piccolo reached for the other portions that made up his being and mind, drawing strength from not just Guru and Kami, but his original darker side as well.

With a twinge and one eye brow rising in annoyance, Piccolo found the strength to throw Kaioshin out of the deeper sections of his mind, and that was all he needed to be able to teleport and break the connection. Reappearing far over head, Piccolo thrust his eviler side back into the mental-cellar and latched it up again even as he focused ki to his hands.

The soft whoosh of air as the namekian reappeared alerted Kaioshin below, his hearing sharper than his foe, and he thrust one hand before him to the side as he teleported upward to meet the foe. When he reformed, a gleaming black and silver slightly block-y sword was held. Summoned katchin.

Driving his physical weapon forward Kaioshin abruptly cut through Piccolos surprised and rushed Hellzone Grenade, detonating the deadly technique at nearly point-blank range, again. Having little time to react the namekian threw himself back and raised one arm before his face.

With a hiss the katchin blade slashed through the air and cut roughly through Piccolos forearm, continuing forward through the collarbone and extending upward to graze one cheek. He yelled in pain and frustration as his blood was sprayed across the upper barrier and fell thickly to the floor below.

Kaioshins mind stabbed outward into Piccolos again as he fell down to avoid the next arching sweep of the sword. It knocked his sense of direction for a loop and saw the namekian crash into the same pillar that Pikkon had, further disorienting him. Kaioshin warped directly before Piccolo and brought his sword up into the air in a two-handed grip, preparing to drive it downward.

"Gyaah!" through the haze surrounding his mind Piccolo locked onto the external sensation of pain flowing through his upper body and threw his remaining hand straight up into the tip of the sword as Kaioshin brought it downward. The result was even further pain- mind-numbing enough to bring proper focus and clarity to his mind and not only allow him to boot the Supreme Kai out, but to direct the weapon away from his skull in the process.

Two thin and narrow beams burst from Piccolos eyes as he snarled and struck true to his enemy's weak-spot- his own eyes. It was enough to blind Kaioshin without flat-out killing him, and the namekian used it to summon his arm again with a low snkit, then wrap his hand around the hilt of the sword and tear it free.

The agony had him clenching his teeth shut as he twisted the blade around. Kaioshin vanished away from it before he could be sliced in two, coming around with both hands before his face and a white light washing over it. However, much like had taken place for him close to eleven and a half or twelve years prior, but was only a short while before for the rest of the universe, Kaioshin was burning through his energy. Soon he would be unable to keep going as his body forced itself into unconsciousness until he could recover from such a use of ki.

Piccolo could feel the slight spike downward from the healing energy and teleportations used so soon after the ritual to repair Son Gohan. Kaioshin wasn't at full health even before they had arrived here, and it was beginning to catch up to him.

The namekian warped down and appeared at a thirty degree angle above his foe. Kaioshins head whipped up to face him just as the sword cut through his left shoulder to the hilt. He howled. Snapping a leg out to finish the job Piccolo spun to add additional weight and speed to his blow and send the hilt of the sword straight through the shoulder.

Thick blood rained down to the ground with a section of twisted bone hanging halfway down the blade of the sword, sticking a good six inches outside of the body. At such close range Piccolos ears rang with the scream of pain and blind fury the Supreme Kai howled outward for all to hear.

It stunned him long enough for Kaioshin to banish the weapon back to what it came from, his bone suddenly falling to the ground below and his arm only hanging in place by a few strands of flesh and muscle, before the others hand had wrapped around Piccolos throat and began pushing every ounce of psychic force he had through the skin and muscle in his grasp.

With a spurt Piccolos head exploded away from the body, the neck blown apart altogether, and his body fell downward limply and twitching. The effort pushed the deity over the edge and his vision tunneled sharply. Piccolos eyes widened as his dark purple blood gushed out and his skin paled considerably.

His head began to fall away from his body and for a few moments it took a considerable effort to concentrate at all. At last a loud snkit pierced the air and everything from his chin downward burst forth in a clear white slime. Piccolo panted from the effort as the slime dripped off his form and he turned to face Kaioshin, falling toward the ground at just above the pace the namekians body was setting.

His ki had taken a considerable beating, but even so, he looked down on the falling Supreme Kai with a reserved respect and understanding. No doubt he had never been stood up to in the kind of situations that had cropped up since stepping on Namek in his entire life. To finally snap under the conditions he had endured for ten years made sense. He just wished it would have been directed at their true enemy rather than each other.

Some section of him wanted to finish Kaioshin off. The other two thirds ignored it and, with a force of will, teleported down to catch the Supreme Kai by the back of his outfit before any more harm could befall his body. The barriers around them faltered as Cell slowly brought his hands together again a few times. "Go." he commanded as Piccolo glanced upward at him.

* * *

Frieza eyed the yellow wrinkled skin of the diminutive foe across from him. The orange shoulder-cape trailed down to the ground and the black and blue baggy pants looked ridiculous on him. The twin whiskers hanging from his face only lowered Friezas opinion on the other alien further.

Babidi snickered beneath his breath as his tentative feelers confirmed evil lurked in the heart of his foe. 'So easy. Soon, even if the monster up there does die, I will still have enough forces at my disposal to awaken Buu.' he thought with a restrained smirk of confidence.

"This won't take long at all." Frieza declared after a brief feel of the others ki. "No, it won't." Babidi called over. "Ayatsuri no Majyutsu!" the spell was whispered rather than shouted out, and Frieza instantly felt a sharp pain resonate from his heart and skull.

His eyes shot wide open as he raised both hands to his head and he hunched over, muscles bulging outward as his ki began rising rapidly. Inside of his mind the magic that had long since settled into place by Kaioshin put up a strong resistance against Babidis majin charm.

Babidi frowned at the resistance and put more magic into his will, forcing it onto the once tyrant of the universe. A soft crack occurred within his mind as Friezas original personality was drawn toward the surface by Babidi, while his reformed personality struggled to push it back down, refusing to become what he once was.

His families voices echoed in his mind in the process, taunting him for the weakness he had accepted, for allowing his enemies to effectively neutralize him. _Him_! _Frieza_! _Defeated by a lowly saiyan and whipped by a pathetic human female_. Rage boiled in his veins as he slowly, shakily, brought his head up to stare at Babidi.

"_Death_.. _beam_!" he shouted through the haze, struggling to control himself. The beam erupted from all ten of his finger tips, crashing into the floor in several places only to be reflected off at an angle. Babidis eyes widened as three converged on his location before he could even blink. If it weren't for his instinctive magic, the barrier he summoned would have come too late to save him. Only one of the beams managed to hit, and it tore through his left side and muscles there.

As if in disbelief, Babidi lowered his fingers to the hole and prodded it. He winced and the pain came flooding in. It floored him with a series of yelps. The assault on Friezas mind relaxed, but it had taken long enough. A faint black symbol was etched into his forehead.

Slowly he rose up to his full height, standing far over the smaller alien, and took one step after another forward. He leaned down to pick Babidi up by the shoulder once the barrier faded and set him on his feet. Babidi winced again, unable to heal himself, and screamed at his newly taken over servant in fury and pain.

Friezas face showed no emotion as Babidi murmured "I oughta blow you up! I still might!" he threatened. Frieza tilted his head to the side. He murmured something of his own under his breath too softly for Babidi to hear. "What was that!" he demanded. "_Ha_." Frieza finished the brief chant.

His fingers clamped down again on the shoulder again as black ki exploded down through the shoulder at an angle. His eyes bugged out and he stammered, unable to speak, but the last thing he thought was 'Paparapapa!' as Frieza stepped away, task done. The remains of Babidi's chest and upper body vanished elsewhere with a slurping sound, as though they were drawn through a thin tube.

Once more the barriers fell, but Cell made no motion to applaud the battle. He was less than impressed by it, especially as one of the fighters managed to escape what should have been an otherwise impossible to escape battle field. Frieza walked down into the remaining warriors and clapped a hand on his sons shoulder when Kuriza-Trunks approached.

"What happened out there?" his son asked in wonder. Before Frieza could answer Vegetto approached, the worst of his injuries wrapped up and a small degree of concern on his face. "_Get out of my sight, saiyan_!" the elder changeling hissed, bringing his other hand around and gathering the ki for another Death Kamehameha.

Vegettos eyebrows rose up to his hair in surprise as the beam passed right through where his body had just been, still transformed and easily able to avoid the blow. His eyes would have narrowed if they could be seen. "Watch it, Frieza. I beat your ass into the ground nearly six years ago, and I can just as easily do so now." he warned, feeling more anger than he should have.

Frieza bristled, ready to strike again, when a first occurred. Trunks and his changeling half-brother appeared back to back, each facing their respective father. They glanced at one another for a moment, then turned back. "It's obvious that enemy changed something in Friezas mind. He isn't acting like he normally is." he told Vegetto.

"I agree." Kuriza-Trunks stated. Frieza growled at the saiyans, more so Vegetto then his off-spring however. "Whether he did or not, the next time we meet, you won't be walking away alive, saiyan!" he swore, turning away to face the stage. Vegetto took a step toward him and was restrained by Trunks. "I'm the last person to appreciate Frieza or how he's integrated himself into my family, but he has integrated into my family. You can't attack him when he's been influenced like this." he told him firmly.

Vegetto grunted, then relented. "You're right. Vegetas rage is dying to be let out on someone. Pikkon.. didn't deserve the brutality he got." he stated. Trunks let out a soft sigh and was about to agree when Cell called him to the platform.. along with Gohan.

"What?" he demanded as his head swiveled around toward where Cell was standing. The Supreme Kai smiled thinly. "Son Trunks of the North Galaxy vs Son Gohan of the North Galaxy." he repeated. Gohan looked in his direction from a little ways off, then began reluctantly pacing forward.

Trunks grimaced. "Damn you, Cell! This isn't right!" he swore, kicking off from the ground and beating his past-brother to the field. He placed both hands on Gohans shoulders. "You should forfeit, Gohan. You're in no condition to go up against anyone!" he told him quietly.

Gohan swallowed and reached behind him to grip the hilt of the sword at one shoulder. As soon as his fingers wrapped around it, he felt a surge of emotions and power rush through him. The final to settle into place was annoyance. "Get off, half-blood traitor. I've been looking forward to kicking your ass for over ten years." he warned, twirling the blade around expertly and nicking Trunks arms.

He let go with a sharp expression. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. "Just that. You took good ol' dad away to yourself while I, his first son, got shipped off to hell and beyond to spend the rest of his sane days in the company of demons. Pleasant thought, that one, isn't it? How was it, hm, spending a couple dozen years together in the Room of Spirit and Time?" he questioned.

Trunks eyebrows met in anger. "It was five years, and I had no idea what happened to you until we got here! If it wasn't for Piccolo explaining to dad what took place... _wait a minute_!" he shouted, realizing that Gohan was supposed to be mellowed out, and he was certainly acting and speaking anything but.

Gohan twisted and kicked his brother up onto the platform, rising into the air to land just inside it as well. "Finally caught on, huh? This weapon won't be leaving my hands again until I've found a way to reintegrate it into myself." Gohan called over.

* * *

Narrator: At last, the fighters have gathered and the tournament has already reached the final contestants! Vegetto, a Pseudo-Super Saiyan at last! Gohan, damaged by Kaioshins efforts! And Piccolo, respectful and willing to fight this time around! What lays in wait for the up-coming encounter between two demi-saiyan brothers? What of the last two fighters, and how could Babidi die? The preview lays in wait!

* * *

Their swords crashed against one another and sent wind sweeping out with a sharp hiss. Gohan smiled as Trunks side-stepped his next strike and drove his sword through his brothers shoulder in an attempt to make him drop the weapon. "Surprise surprise!" Gohan mocked as the weapon vanished through a hole where flesh bone and muscle once rested.

* * *

Olibu looked the scrawny figure spread out on the ground across from him over. "Nothing particularly special about you, is there?" he called over, expecting more. Taking down with one shot? It was pathetic. Broly limply pushed up and stared at him, wiping the blood from his mouth off on the back of his hand. His eyes were saddened at the sight of his blood displayed there.

It meant the man across from him would have to die.

* * *

Son Gohan: 5'000'000(base), 420'000'000(sword). Piccolo: 800'000'000(base), 300'000'000(injured base). Vegetto: 150'000'000(base), 600'000'000(Kaioken x4), 750'000'000(Kaioken x5), 90'000'000(injured base), 900'000'000(pSSJ). Pikkon: 410'000'000(base), 1'230'000'000(Blazing Shoot), 139'000'000(injured base), 12'000'000(unconscious). Kaioshin: 560'000'00, 5000(unconscious) Frieza: 94'000'000(firm katchin limb set, base), 210'000'000(Majin charm). Teen Trunks: 70'000'000(base). Cell: 900'000'000(base). Grand Kai: 300'500'000. Dabra: 610'000'000, 19'000'000(Dying), dead. Janemba: 70'000, dead. King Kai: Nullified. Other Kaio: 4000-6000. Kuriza-Trunks: Range of 25'000'000(strength rising with age toward full potential). Babidi: 10'000, 1'000(dying).

Tournament Standings: http (:) /i597 (dot) photobucket (dot) com/albums/tt60/ZD_Data_Seiryuu/tbt (_) trtpblc (dot) png


	34. Chapter 33

**Kaishin**

The barriers fizzled to life as Trunks rolled up onto one knee and pushed to his feet, staring hard at his brother and the sword in his grip. Gohan smiled at him and let his eyes roam the weapon in his hands over as well. The scimitar stretched nearly two and a half feet long and deepened from vivid red to dark brown from the hilt to the tip, displaying the power of his demonic and saiyan sides.

"Do you believe yourself capable of defeating me like you are? I can feel our respective powers, my brother. _You're over five times weaker than I am in just our base strengths_." Gohans voice spoke from behind Trunks as his after-image flickered and blurred around the edges before fading away.

Trunks eyes widened a fraction before the sword sank through one arm at an angle, beginning just above the elbow and trailing down to the wrist. The older demi-saiyans form erupted with power as a wind and aura spiraled around him, and Trunks brought his other hand around to grab the blade before it could go any further than an inch and a half deep.

Transformed into a Pseudo-Super Saiyan, Trunks drew the sword harshly out to the side with a low grunt, ignoring the blood and muscle that sprayed the already bloody floor beneath them, and kicked out high at Gohans neck. Gohan ducked beneath it with a fraction of a second to spare and twisted the scimitar in his hand, attempting to slice open Trunks tightly grasped fist.

Trunks released the sword and brought his other arm around to catch it from beneath, then filled his former hand with burning ki and slammed it to the open wound. A low hiss escaped him as it was cauterized shut. Gohan took the moment to raise his own power through Kaioken. There was no point transforming just yet.

With a grimace as the sword suddenly cut into his fingers Trunks relented and kicked back to put some distance between himself and his brother. "Galick Gun!" he commanded. Gohan smirked and thrust out one hand. "Hellzone Kamehame... ha." he waited as the familar energy grew in his hand, the center tainted an ugly green-yellow.

Trunks waited to bring his tail around just yet, the tip beginning to glow with power as he prepared his Burning Attack as a surprise blow once his main strike was engaged with Gohans. The energy beams met in mid air with a sharp hiss, sending hot air rushing out to the sides from where the two met together. "Nice idea." Gohans voice intoned from behind Trunks again as this time Gohans body reformed from matter. Trunks head turned sharply toward the voice in surprise.

Gohan stood there behind him, arms gone from the elbow and down. His brothers face screwed up in anger, not yet realizing the missing appendages, as he released the Burning Attack from point blank range behind him.

"You're never going to succeed." Gohan told him with a low laugh as the attack exploded against him uselessly. "Nrgh!" Another whirlwind erupted around Trunks body as he ascended into the first Kaioken stage and pushed more energy into his Galick Gun. The strain on his body increased a fraction, but it succeeded in pushing the beam in front of him back.

With one eye on his brother behind him, Trunks finally noticed where his arms simply... ended. Vanished, almost block-y and malformed where the flesh should have continued. His mouth dropped open and the Hellzone Kamehameha overpowered his Galick Gun for a few seconds, rapidly crossing the distance between them.

By the time Trunks was able to concentrate on the beam again it was less than a foot away. He thrust both hands forward and grunted as the energy flared outward and halted the destructive beam from exploding against him. With such a close distance bullets of sweat began to drip off his face and neck from the level of concentration and power it required.

Gohan tsked from behind him and leaped into the air, spinning his body around in mid motion and slamming a foot into the back of Trunks neck. His eyes widened sharply and his footing gave way, throwing him forward into both attacks. A low-pitched howl escaped over the explosion amid a shower of blood raining down around Gohans form.

The corrupted demi-saiyan smiled and licked the blood that fell around his face off, dragging his arms back into place and the sword with it. Trunks ki hadn't fallen very much, and as the smoke was blown away, he was left crouching on the ground and holding his chest with one hand slightly mangled, the katchin clothing he wore absorbing most of the impact- yet the areas of exposed flesh around it were scorched and torn in several places, including his neck and face.

Gohans smile faded. Before him Trunks pushed up to his feet, gathering ki to his more heavily battered hand even as he reached down to the hem of his shirt and, grunting, dragged it up and over his head. The material rustled heavily and the muscles stood out more clearly as he tugged it higher and higher, finally holding it in one hand and slowly wrapping it around like a glove, or gauntlet.

He allowed a long and narrow blade of yellow ki to form from the hand that had been gathering his energy up. "You aren't my brother. You're a twisted byproduct of hell, and that's exactly where you're going back to by the time this tournament is over. HYAH!" with a shout Trunks kicked off the ground, raising his strength and speed through Kaioken again.

Gohan barely had time to blink before their swords clashed against one another with such speed that a whirlwind was kicked up with a sharp hiss, numbing the hand in which Gohan held his weapon. "So you think you can move faster now? Like that's going to help you!" Gohan grunted, shaking his head in disappointment and slashing through the energy blade as he amplified his own strength accordingly.

Trunks side-stepped it and drove his sword through Gohans shoulder. To his surprise no blood was lost, no shout of pain. A narrow hole existed in the space where his blade had just pierced. "Surprise, surprise. A side-effect of being a byproduct of hell, as you put it." Gohan taunted, a slow smile of superiority displayed at the expression on his brothers face.

It didn't last long. Trunks eyebrows met as he frowned and abandoned his grip of the ki based sword, spinning and backhanding Gohan in the face with the hand wrapped in his shirt, pushing to the peak of his Kaioken abilities in mid-swing.

Gohan smirked, leaving himself open to the practically bare-fisted attack, fully confident in his strength. The air grew heavy around them and the barriers gained spider-webbing-cracks, all from a single seconds worth of unbelievable power flowing through the two demi-saiyans forms and being emitted.

A crunch filled the air as cartilage and bone was shattered. Gohan was lifted off his feet by the force behind Trunks blow and slammed with a shuddering crack into a pillar so hard it left an indention of his body in it, cracks spider-webbing outward. The barrier flickered and fizzled for a few seconds before giving out around it.

A trail of blood ran from where Trunks hand still hung in the air all the way along the platform to where Gohans body rested. The sword in his hand rested on two fingers, rocking back and forth in the wind drifting through the open barrier. Raising his other hand Trunks concentrated his ki and rose into the air, abandoning his shirt to approach his brother.

The sight that met his eyes made Trunks cringe partially. The nose was gone altogether, exploded to a gooey mess dripping off his chin and hair. His forehead was cracked and dented inward partially at the middle and trailing down, and the lower eye-sockets were shattered altogether with bone jutting outward. The flesh around his mouth was torn off to one side, revealing muscle and broken teeth.

Gohan wasn't dead, but he was unconscious. The weight and velocity the katchin attained exceeded anything Gohan would have expected. His brothers strength had plummeted from a single blow, and Trunks realized that if he removed the sword Gohan would die. "Damn it." he swore softly, ignoring his own wounds and concentrating on what he could do.

'If I give him some of my ki it should help stabilize him once the sword is removed. But I don't have enough on my own to keep him alive for long...' wrapping one hand around the one that held the weapon, Trucks slid his other behind his brothers back and drew him out of the pillar.

It was at that moment when the dead look in Gohans eyes faded to a burning hatred and his ki rose back up rapidly. Trunks blinked in surprise and sudden realization as Gohan slammed a knee into his exposed stomach, doubling Trunks over and forcing him to cough up blood. With a sharp kick Trunks was sent into the air. Gohans body faded away and reformed in the air overhead, holding the blade firmly as he howled, unable to coherently speak with his broken teeth, and drove it down through Trunks spine.

The after image before him faded away as Trunks reappeared to his left, hair swept upward by the wind his power was generating, air crackling. His hand snapped out and slammed down into the bone of the wrist, breaking it in two and rendering Gohans grip worthless.

The scimitars hilt slipped from the demi-saiyans fingers, and as it did, Trunks locked eyes with Gohan and waited. The hatred gave way to pained confusion, then agonized fear, until his eyes had rolled up into the back of his head. A slow look of sadness crossed Trunks face and he caught Gohan by the front of his shirt, power fading away. The rumbling of the arena and pillars had escaped his notice.

He shot off toward the open edge of the barrier, but the rest faltered a moment later and he was able to adjust his path, soaring over to where Kaioshin lay unconscious. He did not enjoy this in the slightest as he set Gohan down. The demi-saiyan had gone beyond shock, and he was rapidly approaching his death.

"I need your help. Kaioshin is the only one that can heal Gohan right now. He's burned out again, right? So he just needs enough ki to keep going. Come on!" Trunks demanded of his father, Frieza, Kuriza-Trunks, and Piccolo. The others had felt the strength being given off during the fight. It was.. overwhelming.

Vegetto was in part proud, and in part annoyed. He got over what little surprise there had been quickly, and apparently so did the others, as Frieza slowly shook his head. 'My time as ruler is over. This power can not be over come. No, do not fight against yourself; absorb the life you have now. The future is where any hope lays to restore that life.' he thought, turning his eyes to Kaioshin.

As he did so, however, he couldn't resist the surge of intense anger leveled against the deity, and he snorted. "Help the so called great god of the universe? Pah!" spitting in the Supreme Kais direction, Frieza approached where Gohans body was resting and slowly summoned a small ball of ki to it.

"I won't have any part in healing that monstrosity. Consider this a parting gift, halfbreed." he spoke lowly, infusing Gohan with a generous amount of strength. It would keep him alive long enough for Kaioshin to heal him once the others chipped in their strength to the Supreme Kai. Stalking away before they could say anything about it, Frieza waited for the next match to begin.

Vegetto watched his action with a quiet bemusement, silently wondering why he had just helped his enemies son out after the words spoken earlier. Never the less they had other things to attend to. "Don't waste your time here like this. Take him to the future with you. Your next match will be a ways off and no one else can afford to waste ki trying to bring that idiot Kaioshin awake again. Just get the one from your timeline to heal Gohan." he told Trunks in an even tone.

Trunks frowned at his fathers seeming calmness and harsh words. Nevertheless, Friezas contributions would be enough to keep Gohan alive. He turned to go to the platform and pick them up when his shirt slammed into his chest and the sword crashed to the ground a few feet away, flung off by Olibu. The human fighter watched their group mysteriously, concern evident, yet understanding it was none of his business.

A few minutes later and the two demi-saiyans were gone.

* * *

Olibu waited as his opponent slowly walked up to the platform and settled into a relaxed stance across from him. They were about even in height, though Olibu was more muscular. The difference in their builds made his foe look down right small by comparison.

For his part, Broly watched him with a look of disinterest. Olibu was just another pillar of sand waiting to be knocked down. No one so far had given him any interest or challenge. Even the fighters that had made it so far were little more than high power ups and tricks.

As soon as the remaining three barriers fizzled to life Olibu shot forward, drawing his left arm low and back to his side, curling the fingers tightly into a hard ball and thrusting forward with a twist when there was only a foot of space remaining between them. His fist surged up and collided to his enemies lower lip, cracking the flesh open and spraying blood across the humans hand.

The force of the blow sent Broly rolling backwards to land on his face and stomach. Olibu shook his head in disappointment as he looked the scrawny figure laying down on the platform over. "Nothing particularly special about you, is there?" he called over having expected more. Taken down with just one shot?

Broly slowly brought his hands around beneath him and pushed upward, staring at his red-black blood dripping to the platform beneath him, and brought one hand around to wipe it off. His eyes grew saddened at the sight of it. It meant the man across from him would have to die- to shed the blood of royalty was inexcusable.

As soon as those words passed through his mind Olibu charged at him again. In the second before the human reached him, a change overcame the saiyan. The muscles along his form relaxed and his posture with it, leaning into the foot as Olibu's kick connected with his chin.

The result threw Broly back and into the air, flipping end over end several times before he suddenly halted his momentum and landed on his feet, no wound apparent. His expression gave nothing away. Olibu frowned. He almost recognized the way in which his opponent had just moved. Nevertheless, he gathered his strength and threw himself forward again. He had no ki based energy attacks in the way the rest of the fighters possessed, relying on sheer strength, endurance, and speed to get the job done.

He snapped a kick out that caught Broly in the side of the head, the side of his face being pushed in before his body was thrown to the ground, using the momentum behind the kick to flip his body around and land on his back. The full blooded saiyan had relaxed his posture and form again the instant before the strike collided.

"Are you through now? I have allowed you to land three strikes to my form." Broly called up at him dully. Olibu's eyes widened. It was slowly coming to his mind, the technique his foe was using. It alarmed him sharply because it had very few weaknesses, and had been used by his last foe when he was still alive.

"So you recognize it." Broly said before thrusting his legs into the air and back-flipping up to his feet, having noticed the look on his foes face. "The form of Kan-kanwa." he added. "_Complete Relaxation_." Olibu responded quietly. "How did you learn this move?" he demanded. Broly shrugged.

"I never said this was a move." he responded. With that he began pacing forward, still relaxed as ever. Olibu stepped back, questioning what that meant. Surely he wasn't implying that the technique had been improved upon... extended into... "No." Olibu declared suddenly, unwilling to accept what his fear was trying to make him believe. "You're bluffing." he stated, gathering his strength again.

Broly did not argue. He simply caught the next kick and absorbed the energy behind it once more even as he was flipped end over end, once more landing on his feet.

Raising both arms out to the side in the air, hands splayed out, Broly sent a surge of power through his body. The head-band hanging over his forehead exploded into shrapnel, revealing the black spiraling M burned into his flesh beneath it. "My master Garlic sends his regards from the Dead Zone."

A chill ran down Olibu's spine. Slowly stalking forward like a beast that has cornered its prey, Broly waited a few moments to see if the human would try a final desperation move; the same that had ended his life before and had sealed Garlic in the Dead Zone.

'Garlic is not immortal. His form should have been long dead! This saiyan whelp can not possibly have met the Makyan!' Olibu thought, pacing backwards away from Broly and starting to circle into more open space. Broly shook his head at the humans futile evasive motions, realizing it wasn't likely to happen again.

With a sudden hard kick against the platform beneath him, in which several after images were left behind, Broly's form shot forward to appear directly before Olibu's some distance away. In each hand a small green orb had formed. "You're finished." slamming both hands down into Olibu's shoulders, Broly released the twin Omega Blasters and jumped away to avoid the explosion.

The human's eyes widened a fraction before the energy spheres enlarged several times as they engulfed his body from either side, forming a completed multiple-shaded green sphere. Within it Olibu's head could be seen tilting backwards to scream in pain as his flesh and blood evaporated beneath the heat and power of the attack.

Within ten seconds there was nothing left of Olibu. Already dead, he had been nullified from existence.

* * *

Vegetto watched Piccolo calmly, his power flickering back and forth through his aura. "This is about as bad as your last match, Piccolo, only you're the weaker one now." he called across to the namekian. Piccolo shrugged. "So it is. If I was at full power this would be a truly close battle. Now I'll have to go all out to try and win." he responded.

A slow smile came to the saiyans face. "So you still think you can win?" he asked. Piccolo shrugged and cracked his neck a couple of times, then reached up to tug his turban off and fling it to the side. It fell with a resounding thud and left a slight indentation in the katchin floor.

Reaching down he tugged off his cape and threw it to the side as well, a far louder crash echoing as it hit the floor and sank a good half inch down. Cracking his knuckles, Piccolo smiled as his power began rising again on it's own now that the over-weighted clothing was gone.

Vegetto smiled at the action. "So you were concealing your true strength all this time." he said. Piccolo smiled back at him. "It's a shame you stopped wearing weighted clothing, Son Vegetto. Just imagine how much stronger you could be right now." with that said the namekian shouted "Kaioken times three!" and rocketed forward. The saiyan blinked and took a step back, avoiding the first punch, and brought his arms up to block the second and third.

Kicking out with his left foot he managed to catch the namekian in the stomach, but the blow had little effect, and Piccolo stretched one arm around behind Vegetto to grab a hold of his hair and swing him around, slamming the saiyan into the hard floor before he could stop it, and finally throwing him into the air and leaping forward with a spin, delivering a strike to the base of the spine that threw Vegetto into a barrier harshly.

The saiyan pushed off of it slowly and turned to face Piccolo, a small trail of blood leaking down from his forehead after dragging on the platform. "Not bad." he grunted, pain lancing up his back from the kick. "Kaioken." he ordered, not even needing to double his strength to catch up with Piccolos. To his surprise the aura that formed barely sizzled to life and his strength, having dropped some from that single blow, hardly increased to the level it should have. It certainly wasn't in the same range of competing with Piccolos.

The namekian himself realized the same fact. 'Does this mean he doesn't have the power to take out Cell?' he thought, eyes widening a fraction. He had assumed out of all of them, somehow the stubborn fused saiyan would be the one to come out on top in the end. Apparently his body wasn't of the same opinion.

Ignoring the additional strain it put on him for the first time in six or seven years now, Vegetto commanded "Kaioken times two!" The sudden splitting and duplication of his ki to grow stronger took his breath away with the pain that came with it. He hunched over, eyes widened, not understanding what was going wrong. 'Have I.. lost control?' he demanded silently. He had matched Piccolos power level, but the damage it was dealing to his body rendered it nearly useless.

'He can't control it any more. How is this possible?' Piccolo thought, hesitating. He didn't have the power like he was after regenerating so much of his body, and even with Kaioken he still had his work cut out for him against Cell if he won this match. 'Damn it, Kaioshin, why did you have to fight me like this? If you were still conscious this problem would have been dealt with already!' he thought.

"So be it. Will you concede defeat, Son Vegetto, or must this match continue?" Piccolo finally called over to him. Vegetto pushed up to look him in the eye, a grimace on his face, and managed to suppress it long enough for a thin smile. "Come on." he muttered aloud. Silently, the two halves of his being came to a conclusion and agreement. One would take the brunt of the pain to their body and allow the other full control to fight.

A sudden change came over him as Vegetto scowled, standing upright in the air and flexing his fingers a few times, before gathering ki to one hand and throwing himself forward. "Galick Gun!" he ordered in a deeper, harsher voice. Piccolo noted the change in surprise, stretching out of the way of the wave.

It came back at him and forced the namekian to teleport out of it's path, gathering ki to his fingertips. It had been too long since he last used this attack, and it felt somehow... right, to perform it again. Vegetto shot forward, considering Kaioken times three. He held no love for the other half he had become fused with, but he knew how durable the other saiyan was. He could handle it. The pain would be no worse than he had suffered in their fight on earth long ago.

However, if he lost control over that pain, it would flood both of their systems again and end the match right there and then. He had to save it for when the namekian was cornered. Bringing up both hands as he rushed Piccolo, Vegetto unleashed a swarm of ki blasts.

Piccolo raised his other hand, siphoning off energy to it, and countered with the Hellzone Grenade. Each sphere collided with another and raised a wall of smoke. 'Now!' commanded a voice inside of Vegettos mind. It was pained, but serious. 'So be it.' he thought back. This would be risky, especially given the way their body was handling the Kaioken lately, but it was something they had practiced a short while training.

'Kaioken times three!' he ordered silently, focusing it into his hands instead of across his entire body. Even through the concentrated effort, Vegetto felt the backlash of pain slipping through from his other half. Shooting forward, Vegetto knew he couldn't perform another ki attack like this. The final blow would have to be physical or not at all.

He felt Piccolos attack coming through the smoke. It was too fast for him to evade. "Nrgh!" thrusting one hand forward he caught the beam in his left hand, effectively neutralizing it, and threw it to one side out of his way. He drew his other arm back and prepared to strike when he emerged only to watch as Piccolo vanished before his eyes.

His ki reappeared at his back and slammed one hand to it sharply. The blow rocked his head forward and jarred his concentration enough to drop out of Kaioken altogether. The namekian followed it up with a flurry of final punches that sent Vegettos strength plummeting downward along with his body, crashing to the platform with a crack.

Piccolo teleported down to him and allowed his own Kaioken to fade out. Vegetto slowly pushed up to stare at him, barely restrained fury burning to life, before it faded away and he blacked out, succumbing to his wounds. "You fought well, Son Vegetto." the namekian murmured, leaning down to pick him up and throw an arm around his shoulders, then drag him off the platform as the barriers fell a moment later.

Cell clapped his hands together in evident amusement. "And so falls the only one that could have challenged me." he called out across the entire field, voice arrogant and proud, satisfied.

* * *

**Approximately eighteen and a half years in the future, Kaishin**

Kaioshin greeted Son Trunks and his unconscious, badly wounded brother when they arrived on his planet. "Hold your tongue, Son Trunks. We know of what has taken place. The only way to heal your brother may not be possible. In a way, it would violate his form even worse than it already has been. Will you allow the same process performed on you to learn the ways of sealing to likewise be used on Son Gohan?" he questioned simply and sharply.

Trunks scowled. "Will you be able to revert him to how he was?" he demanded. ".. Yes. He will never be wholly as he was, but the majority will be represented. You must have the sword, however." Kaioshin answered. Silently Trunks dug into his pockets and drew out a tiny capsule, activating it. The scimitar gleamed in the pale moon light. "So be it, then. Come, we go to my ancestor."

A few seconds later and everyone had arrived where they needed to a far distance away. Elder Kaioshin tsked. "Always manage to botch up something, don't you saiyans?" he asked in exasperation, King Kai floating by his side with a halo overhead. The kaio smiled sadly at the sight of the two brothers.

Trunks growled at the ancient Kaioshin, but nodded his head slightly to King Kai. "Set him here with the blade, holding onto it if possible. The connection must exist physically before it can be reunited mentally as well." Kaioshin directed. Trunks did as told. "If this works out right, his sleeping power can be drawn forward as well. It will take six months to complete the process in whole, but we will leave nothing to chance in reverting him." Elder Kaioshin told him.

"Six months?" Trunks repeated. "Six months indeed. Each memory must be broken down and adjusted, each piece of darkness transitioned into light. The process could have been handled quicker if not for my... past counterparts brutal rendition. I do not envy his plight, nor his justifications, but he has lost sight of the greater threat lurking ahead." Kaioshin explained.

"The demon aspects embedded in him by the Demon Realm and Janemba can be cut away and discarded as a bad influence. The primal saiyan aspects that only awoke when he got angry can be restored and balanced with the human nature and emotions. The lost Super Saiyan power could have been brought forth without the normal requirements being met by my ancestor, but right now trying to bring out that much power would only damage the effort. You may look into it yourself some day soon, Son Trunks." Kaioshin continued as he and King Kai focused mentally on the task at hand, preparing.

The demi-saiyan snorted. 'Like I'd take my chances.' he thought, before another idea came to him. "One question before you set to work, then." Trunks suddenly asked. Kaioshin motioned him on impatiently, about to start the chant. "Would the senzu bean plant grow here?" he asked. Kaioshin paused. He turned to his ancestor. He, in turn, frowned and closed his eyes in consideration.

"They would." he finally said. "Provided the plant can take root from the other natural vegetation. Kaishin plants are notoriously difficult to stem, but given the very nature of the beans it is sound to believe it of any earthen plants could succeed." he said. Trunks nodded his head, smiling a little for the first time in their presence for a while.

"Good. We always seem to run out whenever a critical threat shows up, and right now it would help to stock up on some before heading to the past again." he said. "About that..." Elder Kaioshin began. Trunks felt a sense of unease coming from him. "What?" he asked. "Don't kill Cell. Beat him senseless, by all means. But do not deal a fatal blow. That demon Dabra took away his namekian traits while your brother was still in the Demon Realm." he warned.

"What?" Trunks repeated. "Cell won't regenerate anymore, dolt! Something _my_ ancestors did came back to haunt the universe in your time." he explained vaguely. When pressed for details he finally added "Three halves were reunited and the power it wrought removed the Dragon balls from the past. They just can't be created any more. So don't go off and die any time soon!" he warned.

A vein stood out on Trunks forehead. "_Your people just can't stop ****ing up_, _can they_?" he demanded. Kaioshin turned to him and approached sharply. "We have made choices to better the track of the universe. Would you have us abandon the first Namekian people to the tortured forms the king of the Demon Realm inflicted upon them? Would you have us abandon your brother to the form he is currently dying in? Would you have us do nothing to prevent the threat of Buu from awakening and consuming each living and dead soul throughout the universe whole?" he demanded.

Trunks growled back at him, but Kaioshin pushed forward. "We're not perfect, Son Trunks, but we're the only gods this universe has to it, and if you think you can do a better job than take a good hard look at what Cell has done! Absolute order under a tyrannical ruler with no hope of happiness on the part of any living or dead being, the kaio working to death as punishment for allowing the peoples of the universe the choice of what to do in their existences! Can you justify his path any more than our own? We stand at opposite ends of the spectrum, Son Trunks, absolute order with no choice and fractured control with free decisions." he finished, voice growing more weary than angry as he continued.

Trunks paused to consider that. At last, he said "The only way to convince him is to kill him. Nothing else will work." the two Kaioshin just shook their heads. It was King Kai who approached now. "Speak to him at your mercy. Work through his mind; he is only a machine. A living, breathing machine, but a machine nevertheless. Discover just what settings have been set that forced him into believing this was the only way to be, and convince him of how wrong they are. Look past your anger and frustration, Trunks, and find a way to turn Cells path to right under the order of your own Kaioshin. You will need all the help you can attain against Buu." he explained.

Exhaling sharply through his nose, Trunks finally nodded his head. "You're sure this _Buu_ will be awoken?" he demanded. "Oh yes. The major players are already setting the course of action forward. Slaying Babidi as Frieza did will greatly help extend the time you have before Buu is brought back, but make no mistake, his partner is eager and willing to reawaken such a monster." King Kai said.

Trunks grunted. "... fine. Damn it, but fine." he swore. "I need to go back to earth. My dad will need a senzu bean or two if he's to take Cell down enough for me to do what you want." he said. Kaioshin approached him. "This must be done swiftly." A moment later and they were gone from Kaishin. Soon enough, and Trunks would be on his way to the past.

* * *

**Kaishin, approximately eighteen and a half years in the past**  
The time machine hummed into existence several feet above the ground. The few fighters still conscious looked up at him as the machine settled to the ground with a loud crunch. Cell sat forward in his seat, eying the missing demi-saiyan curiously, wondering what he could have accomplished in the future. Despite himself, the saiyan cells had allowed the other to leave with his brother in the hope that a greater power in his base form could be achieved in the process- without it he would be slain in only a few seconds.

'How foolish. He hasn't grown any stronger at all.' he thought, disappointment forming on his face and rushing through him in the process. Sealing the time machine back up, Trunks landed on the ground and approached Piccolo. His father had fallen out of his transformed state as he lay on the ground beside Kaioshin.

"So I take it you won." he said, feeling the change that had taken place in the namekian. The last time he had seen Piccolo before here on Kaishin had been when they were still enemies, and he hadn't trusted him enough to notice the subtle changes.

"So I have." he responded, noting Trunks slightly guarded expression toward him compared to earlier. "Your father put up a good fight. He simply lacked control over his Kaioken once transformed." he added. Trunks considered that, then nodded his head. "I had trouble with it as well in the beginning." before anything more could be said Cells voice rang out across the field.

"Son Trunks of the Northern Galaxy versus Paragus Broly of the Southern Galaxy." he called out. The latter name hadn't meant much to any one, but the former finally caught Friezas attention as a memory drifted upward from so long ago. "_His execution has been carried out to avoid needless suffering on your planets people_. _Do not forgive him for this_. _Do not allow his family name of Paragus to be forgiven_. _Execute any who follow that families line to ensure the seed of treachery is firmly stamped out_." _Coola finished speaking but leaned down to grasp the now dead saiyan by the tail, and fling the body into the air_.

'So the line endured.' Frieza thought, a grim smile coming to his face. He held no love lost for his original family, especially not his brother, but having seen what the saiyan had accomplished against the admittedly powerful human coupled with the revelation of his last name piqued the elder changelings interest.

He knew Son Trunks would not kill the other saiyan. It wasn't in his nature to destroy his foes- gravely injure, but not fatally wound them. Once their match was over with he would have his chance to get answers, such as where the line of Paragus had managed to fine solitude with the entire Cold Empire searching for it- they would have needed much time to spread from so far in the North Galaxy to the South, and even some areas of that section fell under his brother's rule.

* * *

Narrator: Power to shake the world rests in the hands of two demi-saiyan brothers! But is it enough for the threats further down the road? And what strength would be unleashed by Son Vegetto as a capable Pseudo-Super Saiyan? Does Cell honestly still believe he can win after sampling the billions of ki released already? And what mysteries still surround Broly? Read on for the preview!

* * *

Trunks barely hesitated long enough for the barriers to form before he shot forward, intending to end this quickly. Unlike the other fighters, he had never seen just what his foe was capable of. He had no idea of the perfect form of fighting developed and later taught to the full blooded saiyan until it was perfected. He could not guess that his fighting techniques would be worthless.

But it always had one weakness; ki.

* * *

The two aliens watched one another with what could be considered curiosity. Piccolo had last seen his foe as a limbless torso, barely clinging to his survival and toted about like a trophy. Frieza had only ever known Piccolo as a weakling namekian bearing a vindictive streak- not counting future knowledge, of course.

The black-silver gleam of light off the changelings metallic limbs warped as he made the first move, releasing a Death Kamehameha.

* * *

Piccolo: 300'000'000(base), 420'000'000(without weighted cloths), 1'260'000'000(Kaioken x3). Vegetto: 900'000'000(pSSJ), 840'000'000(injured), 1'008'000'000(imperfect Kaioken), 1'260'000'000(imperfect Kaioken x2), 1'680'000'000(Kaioken x3). Gohan: 5'000'000(base), 420'000'000(sword), 840'000'000(Kaioken x2), 1'260'000'000(Kaioken x3), 4'200'000'000(Kaioken x10), 10'000'000(lowered), 4'000'000'000(Kaioken x10), 900(Dying). Trunks: 70'000'000(base), 700'000'000(pSSJ), 1'050'000'000(pSSJ+Kaioken), 1'400'000'000(pSSJ+Kaioken x2), 4'900'000'000(pSSJ+Kaioken x7), 4'200'000'000(pSSJ+Kaioken x6), 60'000'000(injured base). Olibu: 20'000'000, Nullified. Broly: 2'000'000(lowered), 60'000'000(Omega Blaster, 20%). Kaioshin: 5000(unconscious). Future Kaioshin: 560'000'000. Elder Kaioshin: 106'000'000.

Tournament Standings: http (:) /i597 (dot) photobucket (dot) com/albums/tt60/ZD_Data (_)Seiryuu/tnbstrmst (dot) png


	35. Chapter 34

A/N: Hah, great to see you're really into the story man :D And no problem, I always try to answer my reviewers questions as I can.

As for Piccolo becoming evil again, it's been a fairly long time but I believe the original reasoning I had for it began with a slight change to canon- Piccolo was badly injured but never died against Nappa. He was left behind as the others went off to Namek and eventually sealed himself in the Room of Spirit and Time for a year or so.

A lot can change in that kind of time frame, and the evil that was slightly and slowly changing over from training Gohan returned as he dwelt on the thoughts of his defeat, the saiyans, and Goku in general. The knowledge that his foes had united together and now a so called 'god' had descended, over a hundred if not thousand time's more powerful than Piccolo himself was even after his intensive training just pushed him in the entirely wrong direction.

His pride rebelled at the thought and he began formulating how to undo these threats.

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Kaishin**

Ascending into the air, Trunks briefly felt out his foes strength. '2 million? Are you kidding me?' he thought in disbelief. 'This guy has survived the tournament on a measly two million?' feeling a little deeper confirmed his doubts. 'He's holding back a lot of strength.' landing on the battered and bloody platform, he tensely waited for his foe to step up.

Broly himself didn't bother trying to feel the foes strength- in all honesty, he did not have a great understanding of the ability. Just enough basic control to feel the power that was fluctuating off of the others foolishly, those too weak to maximize their physical strength to it's upper limits and the skills that came with it like he himself had.

He knew precisely where his strength ended, and when coupled with his kan-kanwa fighting style, he had no need of falsely increasing his power beyond it's boundary like those around him had so far done. Stepping up onto the platform, he took his place on one end about a dozen feet away and crossed his arms.

He sighed as the others tail, agitated, flicked back and forth from behind him and managed to remind the full-blooded saiyan that his enemy was a brother of their all but extinct race. That changed the extent to which he would allow himself to be harmed before killing the other; simply shedding his regal blood would not earn the other saiyan that reward, no. Only a wound serious enough to limit his fighting capabilities, to push him close to dying himself would see the same treatment used in turn.

'The sooner he's defeated the sooner we are to fighting Cell.' in Trunks mind the other fighter was already unconscious on the ground, taken down within one or two hits. His own arrogance left him open and with his guard down, not even seeing Broly as a threat.

Broly himself could read the way his foe was reacting, the subtle changes in his posture and breathing. He frowned and arched one eyebrow. "You are not taking this seriously." he called over as they waited for the barriers to raise. Trunks remained silent for a moment before saying "I'm taking this more seriously than you could possibly know."

Broly shook his head and looked around them, throwing his arms out to the side. "I'm not talking about this tournament." he stated softly. Trunks scowled. A moment later and the barriers came to life around them. Before they had even fully formed Trunks kicked off from the platform and released a Burning Attack ahead of him, ignoring his foe's words.

Broly's body corkscrewed down and away from the ki blast to lay flat along the ground, allowing it to soar overhead and crash against the barrier. The speed with which he had moved surprised Trunks, as just as quickly he twisted his legs up above him and snapped back to his feet, a soft hint of green light radiating from around his finger tips.

By that point Trunks was nearly on him and the demi-saiyan reacted accordingly, slamming a knee beneath Broly's chin and throwing him up into the ceiling over head before shooting up after him. Once more the full-blooded saiyan relaxed his form before impact to absorb the energy behind the blow and managed to divert the momentum behind it away, allowing him to flip once and land with his feet against the top barrier.

'What the hell?' surprised at the reaction to his strike, Trunks hesitated a moment before narrowing his eyes and rushing forward again. His next strike slammed Broly up against the barrier, and despite the short distance the other saiyan still managed to negate the power and rotate around to retaliate. He wrapped his hands around Trunks arm, catching him between the joints, and twisted sharply away from the back.

A crack filled the air as white bone pierced the skin. Trunks shouted in pain as his arm was released and left hanging limply at his side, which didn't last as the other warrior suddenly thrust one leg out and kicked the bone back and out the other side. Trunks eyes screwed up in rage as a low howl escaped his lips.

'Now you wi-' Broly never got the chance to finish his thoughts before a hand was wrapped around his throat tightly, clenching with all the power it could, and a burning aura swept around and tinted Trunks hairline. Through tightly clenched teeth he hissed, eyes narrowed to thin slits.

He wasn't often one to take pleasure in his more destructive saiyan side, but at times when he has been pushed to the limit of his emotional control _it just felt to damn good to hold it back and think rationally_.

Drawing the other warrior back from the barrier, Trunks slammed him up against it again, three times in rapid succession.

'Fool.' Broly thought with the the first hint of anger showing through as the barrier burnt the back of his skin and he was unable to fully negate the energy behind the other saiyans blows. His own eyes thinned as he slammed one knee up into the remaining elbow. The weight behind the blow rocked the entire arm, but Trunks grip only wavered a second before squeezing tighter again as ki began to gather to it. He intended to finish this enemy like he had Dr. Gero so long ago to him. All the events of the day and the last several years were building to a breaking point within the demi-saiyan.

Ignoring his lungs starting to demand air, the full blooded saiyan grasped Trunks good arm with the wound left fighting Gohan and applied pressure to it at a certain point, just enough to loosen the others grip for the following blow as he snapped his knee against the elbow again. Another crack filled the air and the tight grip around his throat went entirely slack as Broly used his own hand wrapped over Trunks arm and one foot to spin and slam him into the barrier, effectively reversing their positions.

The pain managed to pierce through the blinding rage and allow him to see things with a degree of clarity again. '****!' reeling to the side to dodge the next blow Trunks managed to fall away from the barrier and drop down to the platform again, landing on his feet and staring down at both broken arms numbly through his frustration.

It made no sense to him how this could have happened. He was leagues beyond the other enemies strength! Broly dropped down to land on the platform with a dull thud resounding from the impact. "You are finally realizing the difference between us." he said. "You are stronger, but I have the greater skill, the perfect form of fighting." he added.

Trunks head snapped up to stare and growled at him. "You will never surpass me in melee attacks." Broly finished, raising his arms out to the side as the green glow became a pair of orbs. "This won't eradicate you as my previous foe, but you will not be fighting any further in this tournament. Goodbye." shooting forward with a sudden burst of speed that left behind several after images, Broly brought the two orbs down against Trunks shoulders.

To his surprise his hands passed right through the after image and slammed together, causing a low explosion that burned his skin a deep red. Trunks voice grunted from behind him as a small and narrow wave of ki pierced his back and shot out the other side in-between two of his right ribs.

Grunting in turn and rotating around Broly saw his enemies tail finish glowing. "I underestimated you too often- my mistakes. They won't be happening again." Trunks stated sharply, gathering ki to his fingertips. It burned and he had little control in spite of his years of use with the path leading to them so damaged, but the blade of ki that formed in his _good_ hand was gripped as tightly as it could be.

Broly eyed the ki-sword before looking up at his opponent. Green energy began to not only glow, but radiate from his hands. "Ki will not be my defeat." he stated. Trunks didn't bother answering, swinging with his shoulder to bring the blade into the air and crash into Broly's wrist.

The speed allowed it to cut cleanly through the limb, dropping to the ground with a splatter of blood. "Up until now I've been trying to beat you with my own sheer power..." he paused as the after image before Broly faded away. "...Now I'm going to kill you with speed and ki together." came from slightly beside and above him.

It was too late for Broly's downward corkscrew to fully avoid as the blade descended down through a fraction of his right shoulder and came out his stomach. A section of his arm was shaved off to the bone in the process.

His eyes widened and the simple fact of pain finally began adjusting his outlook on this battle. He could see it in his enemies eyes, the calm resolve to finish him off. It felt... _good_. Here was a foe determined to kill him and quite sure they would succeed no matter what!

The relaxed saiyan instincts began burning within him as Broly constructed a thin barrier of ki around his skin to deter the blade any further- and halt the bleeding in it's tracks. Kick-flipping back to his feet, Broly put a bit of distance between the two of them. In his remaining hand a yellow orb of ki appeared. "Do you recognize this?" he called over in a slightly more eager tone. Trunks eyes narrowed.

"The power-ball." he stated, and Broly thrust his hand behind him and out into the sky, where it soared around and above the over head barrier into the sky. With out even needing to say the command, he clenched his fingers tightly into a fist and waited, glancing up only once before back down to his foe.

Trunks felt a tug to look up and transform. He resisted, having no idea why his enemy would use such a tactic when it was clear that even if both of them became oozaru's- if the other saiyan even had a tail, which he had yet to see- the advantage would still remain with Trunks.

But then he recalled that his range of attack would be far more limited in this enclosed space, not to mention with two broken arms it was entirely likely he would not be able to overcome the other like this. His time to decide was cut off as the changes began manifesting in his opponent.

'This is a trick somehow.' Trunks thought, as his eyes began glancing over head. 'It's been too long since I transformed... my instincts are drawing me toward it again, _damn it_.' with a grunt he tore his eyes away from the sky before it was too late as something occurred to him. '_If I transform now the katchin clothing will destroy me_.' he realized as the enemy saiyan grew, his height pushing against the barriers around them.

The shield of ki keeping him from bleeding to death remained in place, though it narrowed only to the areas already battered and open- and his tail, looped through his massive belt and expanded pants. Trunks eyed the giant ape and readied his energy- this would not be simple, nor easy.

Broly opened his jaws wide, reddish-eyes staring down at the small foe, and released an instantly charged beam of ki. The heat scorched the air and the size filled up the remaining one-third of the platform not covered by the oozaru's feet and shadow.

Channeling all of the anger burning in his system, as well as his flat-out determination to win, a sharp aura burned into life around the demi-saiyan and forced his hair to sweep upwards several degrees, his eyes seeming to vanish altogether. The single sword in his battered hand gained a burst of red lightning rolling over it's surface and grew by an inch and a half all around, jutting out of the seeming-barrier nature of his aura.

Swinging with all his might and speed upward, Trunks cleaved the beam in twain and pivoted on his feet, bringing the sword back around and thrusting it at Broly's chest- the heart, his face screwed up in _pain_- in _rage_- and _determination_, as his fingers released.

The explosion and smoke that rose up around Trunks form obscured the sword the fraction of a second it took to drive through the air and through the oozaru's body. The momentum behind it carried the tip through his flesh and drilled a hole straight through the bone, piercing the heart, to finish just outside the enemies back.

If the oozaru had viewable pupils in the massive depths of his eyes, they would have been seen to enlarge before narrowing to a burning fury as his blood rushed out the opening like the edge of a waterfall. He collapsed to his knees as the fluid of life washed over the platform in it's entirety, soaking into the flawed cracks in the material and running out the open fourth barrier to the ground outside even as it pooled against the other edges.

Trunks stepped heavily through, soaking up to lower-calf on each step, only to have it run off his katchin jeans to be grabbed at again. He stepped past or over the foes form as he needed until he reached the outside, a look of weary exhaustion on his face, the aura of pSSJ and Kaioken intermixing together powerfully. Each in turn faded as he stopped beside his father, Piccolo, and the unconscious Kaioshin.

To everyone's surprise, the body vanished with a terrible slurping sound, taking Trunks ki blade with it and leaving the remaining conscious fighters staring at the empty space in disbelief. A sharp tsk carried over the field just before a low explosion brought their attention to the sky in time to catch the remnants of the false moon raining down around the field.

Cell did not applaud the match as he hadn't the Frieza versus Babidi match for the same reasons. He simply brought the barrier down and motioned sharply for the next two to walk up to the platform with an ugly gleam in his eyes. 'I will find out where these lower lifeforms have fled and utterly annihilate them for it when I do.' Cell swore to himself.

* * *

The blood was still hot as changeling and namekian ascended onto the platform. All the dents and breaks in the katchin surface were testament to the strength being thrown around by the fighters to survive into the semi-finals and beyond.

Turning to face one another they floated up into the air to avoid any more of the thick blood from coating them. The two aliens watched one another with what could be considered curiosity intermingled with determination. Piccolo had last seen his foe as a limbless torso, barely clinging to his survival and toted about like a trophy. Frieza had only ever known Piccolo as a weakling namekian bearing a vindictive streak- not counting future knowledge, of course.

Both were nearly equal in ki after the events of the tournament so far, each sensing out the moment to strike. For nearly a minute they were locked in silence before the black-silver gleam of light off the changelings metallic limbs warped and he made the first move, releasing a swiftly formed Death Kamehameha at Piccolos chest.

Piccolo teleported through it and slammed a knee into the side of Frieza's head. The changeling managed to roll with it and flip, driving one foot into Piccolos chin. The weight knocked the namekian backwards and briefly rattled him, not expecting such a blow, and it gave Frieza the time to gather more power to his hands in preparation.

"Death Volley!" thrusting both hands away from his chest and toward the side, fingers splayed out, a multitude of death beams erupted along each metallic joint. Piccolo shook his head to clear it and teleported to the side, thrusting out his own hands and filling the air with dozens of white spheres. He didn't even need to utter the name to finish the move off as his hands clenched together and, rather than zoom inward on the foes location, simply detonated in mid-air where they had reached.

Sharp and acrid smoke filled the air as Frieza was engulfed, his eyes widening some just before he was consumed in the blasts. Piccolo knew better than to rely solely on his sight and reached out to feel his enemies ki. 'I knew it. He wouldn't be _Frieza_ if he could succumb so easily.'

The smoke quite literally exploded as a swirling black and violent purple wave washed over it, a briefly charged Death Kamehameha homing in on Piccolos location. The namekian simply teleported out of it's way, but found the beams speed suddenly increased as it changed direction and rushed forward at him. "Nngh!" thrusting his head and shoulders backward Piccolo narrowly avoided death and managed to keep the damage itself lower, gathering ki to his hand and slamming it outward to capture the wave and halt it's progress.

"Masenko... ha!" raising his other hand to his forehead and then driving it downward through the wave, Piccolo destroyed the Death Kamehameha and spun in place, throwing out his other arm and elongating it rapidly across the distance between himself and Frieza.

The changeling had barely a second before the slightly scorched palm was on him and radiating with power. It wrapped around his throat and drove him down into the bloody platform below, squeezing tightly to choke him. 'Fool!' hissing silently Frieza reached up and slashed through the arm, the Kaioken coming and going in brief instances as he snapped back to his feet.

Purple blood mixed with the dark red coating Friezas body, but the limb wasn't gone for long before it had been regrown with a _snkit_ and flash of white light and slime. In that hand a materialized morning star formed and slammed into Friezas briefly surprised chest, driving the threesome of spikes deeply into the flesh.

Frieza choked up blood as he was knocked back into another pillar by the force of the blow and Piccolo teleported forward to continue with the motion, vanishing the summoned object to let the gaping holes in the changeling's body gush blood out. With another summoned weapon, this time a pair of spears, Piccolo crucified Frieza through what was left of his shoulders to the pillar at his back.

Frieza ground his teeth together to keep from growling and thrust his legs up to wrap around Piccolos chest and arms and clamp down with enough force to keep the namekians arms at his side, the tail swinging around to wrap around his throat and begin strangling him. Unlike Frieza, Piccolo _did_ require air, and he elongated both of his arms enough to reach around and pry Friezas legs open, allowing him to twist up and wrap around Friezas tail.

With a forward twist and yank powered by Kaioken, Piccolo tore Friezas body through the spears and slammed him down into the katchin platform again. This time the changeling did let out a low howl of pain and rage, but he hardly had any time to do so before he was in the air and then coming back down at the platform again.

This time he got his legs beneath him and braced for impact, driving his hardened katchin feet into the slightly weaker katchin platform beneath them. Piccolo paused in surprise and his grip loosened enough for Frieza to yank it free and backhand him across the face with it.

Namekien crashed to the surface in a pool of blood, rolling a few times before vanishing from sight. Frieza felt for his ki as he looked around, earning a splash of blood into his face and partially blinding him for a few seconds as Piccolo reappeared overhead and opened his cupped hand.

Taking the initiative back, Piccolo raised two fingers before him and concentrated his ki into them, a vibrant white-yellow glow radiating around them and illuminating his face and chest. "Damn you!" Frieza growled, still locked onto the others ki signature, preparing to respond in kind to his foe.

"Special Beam Cannon... _times three_!" Piccolo yelled, the aura of the kaioken vanishing from the majority of his body to concentrate on his hand and finger tips. The strain was incredible, and veins bulged out across the arm and upper side of his body, but he duplicated the final move of Vegetto all but perfectly. Teleporting straight down with half an inch of space between them, he thrust his fingers straight down into Friezas skull.

The tips of his nails dug into and tore apart the changelings left eyelid and shredded the pupil, earning another howl of pain and fury, before the flow of ki spiraled down into into it... or tried to. Frieza managed to throw himself to the ground and raise both feet to catch it, as his arms were currently all but worthless.

Piccolo growled and pushed harder against the changeling, knowing he didn't have anything left in the tank to pull off this kind of move again if it failed. Frieza locked his legs into place, completely nullifying the the ki attack against his hard katchin limb set, using his tail and upper body to help keep his balance at the current angle.

'I'll lose over half it's potency... rrgh!" thought turned voice, Piccolo pulled off one more teleport as his arms muscles had locked up in position and he honestly didn't think he could swing it around or any other part of his body right then. He came out just past the waist and sank to his knees in exhaustion as the final edges of the spiraling beam drilled down into Friezas actual flesh.

It struggled to pierce the surface due to Friezas own kaioken times three being activated in the split-second the namekian was gone. "x4!" Piccolo snarled, feeling something in side of himself cracking. Two seconds later his flesh erupted into flame as the ki flowing through his body began to combust, and he released it's hold before the kaioken could do any further damage to his body.

The flames still burned and began to spread, his ki violently unstable. His problem was taken care of, however, as a single katchin leg managed to cut through his neck and tear the head from the body, sending the object rolling through Broly's blood to rest face up against the edge of a flickering barrier.

Eyes half-lidded, gaping hole in his stomach where vital organs could be seen to be shredded, Frieza snarled as he pushed himself to rise and rush toward the namekians head. He got three feet as his dark purple blood flooded out and left a trail behind him before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and his will alone was no longer enough to remain conscious

Across from him a loud if drawn out _snkit_ filled the air as Piccolos body regenerated covered in white slime. It was exceedingly pale and weak looking, and he struggled to rise to his feet. He swayed viciously as he stared down at the fallen changeling before sinking to his own knees in sheer exhaustion.

A moment later and the barriers fell and with them Kuriza-Trunks and his demi-saiyan half-brother shot toward each fighter. Cell watched them with ill-concealed disdain and slowly clapped his hands, rising in number and pitch at the skill they had demonstrated.

"Well done. Son Trunks of the Northern Galaxy versus Piccolo Daimou of the Northern Galaxy." Cell's voice rang out before his hands paused in mid motion. He leaned down to be sure as the hole in Friezas torso rapidly filled in with new flesh and the organs weaved together again, blood replenishing.

Swallowing the proffered senzu only moments later Piccolo's skin took on a more naturally dark shade and the muscles filled out again as well. Each was returned to their full strength and a little extra.

Anger burned to life in his eyes Cell warped straight down onto the platform and wrapped a hand around Trunks clothing. Or tried to, as the hard katchin shirt resisted. Trunks turned to face him fully with a vindictive smile playing across his face- his own power had not risen. There were too few beans for that course of action, and Cell was infuriated that he had been denied the chance to fight the demi-saiyan at the fullest strength.

Piccolo lightly tapped the Trunks on the back of the head after standing up, knocking him out and catching him once he fell, then tossing him over to Kuriza-Trunks and his father without looking. When he spoke his voice was a sharp hiss. "He has been defeated. You are in the field. Prepare your self for _annihilation_,_ usurper_!"

* * *

Cell paused a moment at the threat and implied insult. Then he did something unexpected; he laughed. It rumbled up through his stomach to his chest and amplified before rising from his throat across the area. Piccolo barely scowled. He took the time to power up to the limits of his natural strength and prepare his techniques.

A white aura of power burned around him, and Cells eyes only narrowed a fraction at the notion that this namekian could possibly believe any one could defeat the self-appointed Supreme Kai.

His mirth at the idea evaporated as Piccolo vanished out of sight, not even leaving behind an after image. 'Teleportation, th-' his thought was interrupted as he felt the namekians ki reappear and swing at him, and with a narrow smirk one hand shot around and captured Piccolos fist behind his left shoulder. Pain lanced through his fingers however as dark purple blood dripped down to the platform beneath them.

'What?" thought turned word at his surprise, Cell was unprepared for Piccolo to bring one glowing hand up and slice through his own arm at mid length to teleport away, completely abandoning the caught limb in the process. Cell felt his ki reappear a short distance away and suddenly grow. Releasing the bleeding arm to the ground below Cell teleported out of the way before the next attack could reach him- the blood there exploded into the sky, releasing a cloud of smoke from the basic ki blast- and reappeared in the air across from the namekian.

The white aura had grown erratic, jumping and shifting as though it were alive. Both hands were held wide open as far as they could go at Piccolos sides, the muscles taunt and veins showing as his head slowly swiveled around to lock eyes with Cell. The wounds from where the spiked knuckles materialized over Piccolos discarded hand had cut into Cells hand remained in place and continued to drip down to mix with Broly's blood below, something Cell was barely aware of as he shifted into a more battle-ready mood.

The barriers formed in place around them, and a battle aura erupted to life around the amalgamation of fighters. Cell took the initiative by thrusting both hands out to the side, two different colored spheres of ki growing to life in the palms, the heat scorching the cuts closed. Piccolo remained in place with his wildly alive aura.

"Big Bang Kamehameha!" Cell ordered, bringing his hands together and warping. He reformed before Piccolo and thrust forward. The namekian had no time to evade, but his aura flowed forward like a shield and caught the beam at point blank range. The heat radiating off it burned through to Piccolos skin, but he growled in defiance and twisted his hands in place.

Sections of his aura broke off as he teleported, and those that remained opened up to allow the beam through before rushing forward and detonating. A swiftly activated Kaioken ensured the damage was minimal, his skin slightly scratched, but otherwise fine. Turning back toward the flow of ki he thrust several fingers outward and released Death Beams.

The speed apparently grew far beyond the strength, as even through the beams made contact with Piccolos skin before the aura could be filled in again, they held less of a blow than expected, used mostly as a distraction and to disorient the namekian as he was flipped around.

Cell appeared inside his flank and slammed one hand to his throat. What his fingers actually gripped down on was the burning aura of the threefold Kaioken as Piccolo raised his strength and reactionary time during the spin. Wrapping one hand around Cells left wrist, Piccolo spun and drove a knee into the others back as he initiated a teleport, inverting their forms on the rebound and driving his other foot into the back of Cells head.

His face was crushed into the blood and katchin beneath it, shattering then nose in the process, as Piccolo wrapped his other hand around beneath the left arms elbow and twisted sharply in the wrong direction.

The pain fully processed and Cells head snapped back, howling in rage. This was a pain he had not felt. It went a step further into agony as, even subconsciously raising a two fold Kaioken, his strength was not enough to break free and Piccolo brought down a Special Beam Cannon.

Two more followed it up at alternate angles and areas. A threefold Kaioken brought Cell to his feet and overtook Piccolos, driving the namekian backwards and against the barrier on instinct. The feeling from his left arm wiped all others off the grid, narrowing his emotional range down to all-but-blind instinct-fueled rage. Piccolo teleported away, but Cell followed, catching his ki and reappearing a step away.

'What?' Disbelief etched his voice and Piccolo warped again. Just as swiftly his enemy repeated the motion, this time connecting a blow with his right hand to Piccolos chest that pushed the bones inward. "GYAH!" Over the shout, blood rushed past his lips to blind Cell. The unexpected distraction brought his mind back into working territories, and he felt the burn of Kaioken eating through his ki slowly.

Instantly he cut it back to a twofold and warped a fair distance away and brought his good hand up to wipe his eyes clean, but the fire in his left arm remained in place even after his Kaioken was lowered. Something simply wasn't right. He realized with a glance of disbelief that his limb was not healing. It was not regenerating. 'It won't regenera-... **!**' Another bloody spray filled his eyes as something took the limb off at the wrist, the elbow, and finally the shoulder.

All in rapid succession. As the pain from one rushed up to his brain, the other was right behind it, and it rocked his head backward as though a fourth blow had landed. Across from him, and panting from the damage to his own chest, Piccolo lowered his outstretched right arm and two fingers.

Around them a barrier flickered sharply and vanished.

There was an inherent flaw within Kaioshins form of teleportation, and it was beginning to make itself well known now: The user could only perform it so many times in one day before it began consuming ki, and Piccolo had been using it a fair amount of times over the last twenty-four hours.

The senzu bean and of course his regenerative nature were very helpful in restoring whatever energy the teleportation tapped, but it was still beginning to eat his ki with each use. '... I must draw this up far shorter than I would have wanted. Cell has not yet suffered for his arrogance, this affront to Kaioshin and his divine order. Awaken further, Piccolo Daimous rage, and fuel the power of Kami and Gurus justice!'

Something in the namekians eyes changed. A slightly sickly yellow glow suffused them and they grew bloodshot, yet flatter, colder. His muscles shrunk inward a degree, and he reached up to tear his cape and shoulder weighted clothing off. He couldn't fully recall summoning it in the first place, but it was just slowing him down right now.

Cell growled and looked down on Piccolo, unable to process how come his arm hadn't healed, hadn't come back to him. Not so much of a twinge of regeneration. He bared his teeth and launched at the namekian, unleashing a storm of kiai's against him.

Piccolo ducked his head and twisted his waist to the side, bringing one arm radically behind his back and nearly dislodging the shoulder in the process, flinging his head to the side and elongating his lower form out of the way, throwing his feet closer with each movement he made, slowly crossing the distance between them as he weaved in and out of each kiai.

The end result saw Piccolo kick from the platform and appear in the sky, energy gathering at his finger tips. "Masenko..." his voice had deepened, grown rougher. Cell growled again and warped behind him. As he reformed a flickering aura of red and white drove through his left ribcage and disintegrated bone and muscle, barely missing vital organs in the process, to come out the other side.

A split-second later and his body was falling, gaining speed, and then crashing to the ground hard enough to shake the earth beneath them all. Another barrier flickered vibrantly and faded. Something, probably the other side of his ribcage or perhaps his spine, cracked loudly.

Cells mind cut off. He was pushed beyond rational understanding yet again by the agony. His heart pumped faster and his blood gushed out of the open hole in his left side, and somehow he found it in him to teleport back onto his feet and gather his ki together.

Piccolo let out a snort of derision and dropped down, summoning a spear to one hand as he did, and with an slash thrust it through Cells body, only it pierced thin air. Cells blood began to boil in his veins from the threefold Kaioken, but so much was already leaving his system it hardly mattered.

His flesh smoking, on the other hand, as it prepared to ignite was another matter all together. He slammed his remaining elbow into the back of Piccolos skull and rocked the Namekian forward, nearly blacking out from the sucker punch. His vision returned after he was laying on the platform a moment later and Cell was falling toward him with one arm raised toward the sky.

"Nnrgh." grunting, he twisted and warped the spears length, slamming the angled hilt against the platform beneath and setting the tip to drive right on through the Supreme Kai's lungs. The last barrier flickered and went out, leaving the platform fully open. Cells mouth hung open as he struggled on the spear, sliding down it's length to his knees, and then good hand, before slumping flat.

His head turned minutely to look at Piccolo with a dull rage, and he coughed up his dark blood before getting out "I... sought... peace. I... attain.. ed... perfection..." his final words were only heard by the namekian, who grunted again and rolled out from under Cell, letting the spear collapse to the ground.

Pushing up to his feet, the darker aspects of his form began to recede and Piccolo felt a wave of exhaustion sweep through his body. So much damage had been caused by a single entity baring the greatest warriors of the cosmos strength, and now it was all but finished.

It would take another minute, perhaps, for the faint beat of Cells heart to futilely pump murky blood through his system and his soul to arrive at the Check-in Station. Time enough to awaken the true Supreme Kai and Kaioshin.

As Piccolo descended the platform, Trunks approached him and walked right by. "I haven't done this for awhile, but he can't die. Future Kaioshin said he's needed against Buu." he murmured out of the corner of his mouth as they passed. Piccolo halted in mid-stride. "_Repeat yourself_." he questioned sharply. Trunks didn't stop, but motioned him back.

"I don't know if that spear will work, but it's better than adding another sword to the mix. Now please shut up." he said wearily, stopping before the dying Cell. He had seconds to perform this act in the hope that it would succeed. With a focused grunt, he thrust both arms out to his side and uttered the name of a technique not meant to be spoken by mortals, roughly translated by Future Kaioshin for his benefit, "**Eternal Barrier**!" and slammed his hands together before his body, slightly altering the angle they met at.

In a split second twain half-domes formed around Cells body and collided together in the middle, uniting. Cells form and the thick dome flared and vanished down into the bloody spear. Piccolo and the others conscious watched the act with mixed reactions, as the demi-saiyan leaned over and panted. It was a truly tasking action and with all he had already endured today, he was close to fainting as he had the last time he used this technique.

Piccolo blinked rapidly then shook his head, Guru's memories of another Piccolo Daimou trickled to the surface and the event that had been required to seal him away suddenly came to mind. He came to a snap decision and pulled off two final teleports for the day, vanishing for several seconds before returning and grunting in pain lowly.

Frieza eyeballed the halfling with a look of intermingled surprise and reluctant respect. Such a technique could destroy him just as easily as their last foe, and while so far it would seem Son Trunks had adapted to having the changeling in his life, Frieza suspected he had never forgiven that one walk-in that led to Kurizas birth.

Kuriza-Trunks himself was annoyed. His half-brother had stolen the lime-light again. "Always seeking attention." he muttered softly, shaking his head. He turned to his father. "What now?" he questioned. Frieza looked down at him. "I do not yet know." he responded softly.

* * *

Narrator: And at last, the Cell saga has come to a close! The Tenbatsu Budokai Champion, Piccolo! But while one imminent threat has been defeated, he is hardly obedient. How will Kaioshin react to this news? How will Vegetto? And what yet lays ahead for the cosmic jurisdiction of the Kaios? Not even I know! Read on for a brief preview of the events to come...

* * *

"The position of North Kaio will no longer be held. The one known as King Kai has left an irreplaceable mark behind in his duties to see the overlord defeated, sacrificing the ultimate position of his very existence. Let it not be said that such an event shall come to pass again." Grand Kai's voice was grim and saddened as he spoke to the gathered figures.

* * *

Kaioshin stared at the two figures across from him in surprise. He blinked twice, then glanced around. Resting at his back was the Time Machine, and in front of him sat... himself? No, the facial expression was softer, the eyes not so lined and angry. And the ancient looking one beside him, could that truly be another of their ni-extinct race?

* * *

"Soon, my troops, we march upon the land of the sealed beast. Our sacred heart yet flares it's burning blood across the heavens in a journey long-since waited upon. We land in three years time at the housing junction for my revenge!" the voice was a dull roar, stretching outward from a shadow that paced along the ground of it's own accord with no body to cast it. The gathered aliens yelled out their loyalty, save two. The taller simply shook his head, disregarding the many weaklings as liabilities. The other simply grimaced.

http (:) /i597 (dot) photobucket (dot) com/albums/tt60/ZD_Data (_)Seiryuu/tbt (_)trtpblcp (dot) png


	36. Chapter 35

**A/N: **I've got about one or two more updates after this already completed so if we see any changes from Bulma, it's likely to begin after that.

I would like to say a very sincere thank you for staying with the story all these months, even when I didn't update for long stretches of time, J..

I've juggled the idea around for a while now on if to go past the Buu saga. I don't intend to go into GT territory though. If we do go past Buu as the prime villain it's probably going to be one of the movie enemies I wasn't able to incorporate into the story's timeline in one way or another.

As for a real Super Saiyan... there's only going to be one character in the entirety of DI to transform to that level. The way I'm writing it, the ability to become a Super Saiyan is in the genes of most saiyans, but in a certain percentage. For example, Goku had about 80% or so of the needed, pure SSJ genes in his bloodline, while Vegeta had a little lower, and when they fused the total number didn't rise but actually fell as the non-SSJ capable genes were increased against them.

Any child the now-Vegetto had would be further diluted with non-SSJ capable genes, making it all the harder to transform even with the needed power and rage. _Having_ those two factors _would_, provided it lasted long enough, allow the saiyan blood to compensate for the lack of potential given enough time in a battle situation.

But if it didn't reach the right height in time then they'd never be able to fully transform. Same goes for Vegetto himself and any other pure-blooded Saiyan, if they don't bring out the needed requirements long enough they won't become one.

It's somewhat convulted but I'm trying to keep the legend of the Super Saiyan(IE 1 per 1000 years) alive here. It really became a joke once all the saiyans in canon could do it.

Here's the second or so to last update before we're up to speed.

* * *

**North Galaxy, deep space  
**A series of dark red, jagged asteroids rocketed through space on a set destination, leaving behind a tail of yellow-white energy in their wake. Within them at various angles small glints reflected the light of a nearby sun- windows. One such asteroids outer shell had chipped and frayed in the journey, revealing a dark metallic gleam beneath.

Within these hardened star ships were the gathered forces soon to plague the earth, and with the time already spent traveling, the remaining three years to arrive hardly drew any attention. In the back-most asteroid, which happened to be the second-largest, the leader paced back and forth before his servants.

Or at the least the shadow of his soul did so. His physical form lay trapped in-between dimensions, where it had been ever since Olibu defeated him thousands of years prior. "In the coming time, my troops, we shall march upon the land of the sealed beast. Once awakened, no god in this universe will stand against it, and should it ever turn, than our sacred heart that yet flares it's burning blood across the heavens shall become it's new prison!" his voice was a dull roar, echoing all of its own as though spoken through a very long tunnel.

"We land in three years time at the housing junction for my revenge! For the destruction of any who would stand against us! For the domination of all creation!" the mostly different alien races roared just as loudly in approval, save for two. The taller saiyan simply shook his head, disregarding the many weaklings as liabilities in the coming times, while the alien at his side grimaced before turning to him.

"You shouldn't be up so soon." he stated. The saiyan grunted. "I'm alive. I'll heal. The greater wounds have been resolved in the chamber." turning away he marched back out of the area and toward the medical ward. His orders had been simple, to over see the wizards progress and ensure no betrayals were yet planned.

"Hm." Zarbon sighed as their master began speaking again of similar things. 'Three more long years.'

* * *

**Kaishin, several hours later**  
The aftermath of the Tenbatsu Tournament saw those still conscious and able rounding up the defeated and, depending on their status of good or evil, returning them to the prison dome on the planet. That was the one thing that was hard to argue about just yet, that Cell _had_ cleaned up the universe. A large majority of it's evil was holed up in one single location now, and most were too weak to be a threat for any of the Z-Fighters.

The exhausted Kaio and Grand Kai faced Piccolo, Frieza and Kuriza- the two saiyans were slumbering in the dome where the _good_ were holed up. "In the wake of the usurpers attack against the divine hierarchy, we are left one Kaio short of full watch over the quadrants of the universe." Grand Kai began in a tone of distaste and weariness. "Let us pause a moment in remembrance of he whom held the position of North Kaio for so long." he closed his eyes and slid his sunglasses off.

Frieza snorted softly to himself, positioned some distance away from the Kai's. Piccolo didn't feel much, beyond gratitude for his efforts and the usual sadness at the loss of life Guru had always felt. Through King Kai two supreme threats had been dealt with, though it was startling with how similar the situations had been resolved; both his Demon King alternative and now Cell lay sealed within weapons.

Kuriza was effectively bored. He had seen exceptionally powerful forces in combat here today and his mind was more focused on that then the death of a faceless entity having no connection to himself. 'Someday I'll gain that kind of power. Its...' he paused to clench a fist and focused tightly on it, and a small blur of ki shaped around it like an aura. '...unfocused.' he thought. 'Unshaped. Unlike my fathers. Will I grow into it, or am I already as I ever will be?' he wondered.

Once the moment had passed the Grand Kai opened his eyes, displaying a change from the emotion previously conveyed. He spoke and his voice was brisk, almost flat. "The position of North Kaio will no longer be held. The one known as King Kai has left an irreplaceable mark behind in his duties to see the overlord defeated, sacrificing the ultimate position of his very existence. Let it not be said that such an event shall come to pass again." sliding the sunglasses back over his eyes, he turned away and walked toward where Kaioshins body still lay against a break in the ground, propping his head upward.

Piccolo moved sharply, dashing across the space in rapid succession. He reappeared between the two of them, laying a hand to the Grand Kais shoulder and promptly beginning a whispered conversation. The others eyes had narrowed at first before growing wide with disbelief.

An accusatory snarl escaped him and Piccolo gestured around them, increasing his own tone and emotion. At last the Grand Kai shook his head and motioned toward the soil beneath them. Piccolo took a step back in outrage. Finally the namekian shrugged and said one last line before turning away.

The others watched the exchange with mingled curiosity. When Piccolo returned to the changelings, he was more reserved and looked as he should from the days events- exhausted, the shadows beneath his eyes more lined. "It will be a day or two before the Kaioshin awakens..." he paused to consider his words after returning to them. 'The Kaioshin's mental stability is far too strained. If he awakens now, there are too many variables to counteract- I fear he may react similarly to Cell...' he blinked when a small ki-blast hit him in the stomach, the result of Kuriza attempting to get him to keep going.

The namekian scowled. "In the meantime we should each rest and recover to the best of our abilities." he stated tiredly. The changeling adult grunted and turned to rise upward when Piccolo spoke again. "And, Frieza..." "...?" "Hide. You are as much a subject to loath as Cell had been. Conceal your strength and run back to the future- and out of Kaioshins retribution seeking hands." he warned. Before either could object he had vanished with superior speed again.

The Majin mark burned on Friezas forehead as his temper rose in outrage. "_Hide_? _Flee_?" he demanded of the empty space where Piccolo had been. His katchin hands clenched before his eyes focused on Kuriza, and for a moment his fury burned even brighter. Kuriza did not flinch despite the power leveled at him and the fire in his fathers eyes, though he did take a steadying step backward to keep from being knocked around.

And like that, Frieza pushed through the anger. He buried it back down before it could trouble him. Several veins stood at attention along his skin before he forced his eyes shut and manually downgraded his body to it's third form, and then it's second, and finally reverting all the way back into it's first. The black-silver gleam of katchin reflected the cool pale skin attached to it and looked only slightly out of size, mostly toward the feet.

The anger was further sealed, and the Majin charm on his flesh faded around the inside and edges. Smiling sardonically, Frieza looked down toward his son and gestured for them to get going. "I have already been on the receiving end of the so called gods wrath. I have grown twice as powerful since- I have no fear of his retribution." he stated. Kuriza nodded his head, studying the change. He had never before seen his father in such a regressed state- not within his memory, at any rate. The third form was the farthest back Frieza had even shown him before.

As the two ascended to the air and began jetting over the landscape swiftly enough for a low level sonic boom, Kuriza tentatively asked "Will I transform like that someday?" Frieza did not answer him right away. "You would need extensive training. And your power is still growing into adulthood." he avoided. Kuriza performed a well practiced scowl. "And if I tried sooner? With this power I have now?" he asked. Frieza remained silent.

* * *

**Kaishin, Approximately nineteen years in the future**  
Old Kaioshin snorted derisively above his crystal ball. "That's just peachy." he stated. His descendant looked over to him with an arched brow, sweat dripping from his forehead and hands. Beneath him on the grass lay Son Gohan, a dark colored blade resting just beside the skin without quite touching it. A faint gray tone of light ran from his hands down over the demi-saiyans form- and from the pained grimace and furrowed eyebrows, it was not a pleasant experience even in rest.

Old Kaioshin turned to him and gestured at the crystal ball sharply. "Warned the boy to keep Cell alive, and what does he do? Allow that Namekian to cut him up into bloody pieces and, in a display of arrogance _and_ insult, seal him away in a spear only after the fatal blows have been dealt! Even should they release him, Cell will be long dead within. His soul will be trapped with a rotting body for perhaps centuries while things settle down with your original counterpart!" he bemoaned.

The Supreme Kai exhaled and simply shook his head. "That move will cost them. Cell _must_ be alive to help confront Buu. And I certainly am not satisfied with the result of Frieza and Babidi's encounter, providing fuel for the inferno." he stated.

Old Kaioshin nodded. "If either of us had been thinking proper, we could have warned them of the invasion approaching. The few enemies discovered so far." he complained. Kaioshin shrugged. "Would it matter? The surprise shouldn't change things." he disagreed as the gray light took on a darker shade and Gohan visibly shuddered. One finger branched outward and a strand of light washed across the blade- drawing an ape-like howl from it, just as it had the previous time and before that as well.

"Hmph." Old Kaioshin grunted, returning his gaze to the crystal ball and allowing his descendant to focus on the ritual again. This level of healing went beyond the usual _heal-all _area he worked in, where injuries new and old were routed out and restored. It sank beneath to the true psyche, down into the depths of the body where it housed and connected with the spirit.

And Gohans connections were very, very badly scarred. The Kaioshin's younger counterpart of the past hadn't been gentle when separating Gohan's psyche and warped soul into it's different attributes. Ultimately, that was the problem with his kind; they could tear something apart very easily, but putting it back together again was where things went sour.

But Kaioshin was not undertaking this task without hope. A month prior his ancestor had brought forth whatever latent talent dwelled in side of the dead god, and then pushed it beyond to a degree. Both his ki and his healing had evolved several notches and it was this that was responsible for the current growth- or retrogression, if you will, of Son Gohan. The sword bearing his saiyan power had grown darker red as that power was slowly infused again into it's natural host. What would be left after all was said and done could be an entirely different being, however.

"Oh, dear.." Old Kaioshin murmured as he leaned down closer to stare into the events unfolding in the past. "_Oh_, _you fool_." he swore. The Supreme Kai glanced up at him. "What?" he asked. "Never you mind. Just hurry that ritual up; there's another you'll need to work on soon enough." Old Kaioshin stated.

* * *

**Kaishin, Approximately nineteen years in the past**  
Kaioshin bolted upright from his prone position on the the Grand Kais bed, within the small palace built to house him while serving beneath Cell. His power rushed out on instinct from the nightmare and destroyed the room as well as most of the upper floor attached to it. Eyes wild in rage and fear, he did not recognize anyone as he shot off into the sky, an energy barrier around his body that burned anything it came into contact with to dust.

Grand Kai was the nearest being at the time and rushed from his small throne room to his superiors presence, looking around at the damage. Kaioshin locked onto him from above and shouted, releasing a wide range of destruction downward, not understanding how awake he was now nor seeing the kaio as a friend rather than foe.

It was caught and nullified by a Final Kamehameha wave before it could crash down upon Grand Kai and finish obliterating his mansion. Vegetto, stirred from slumber and warned by Piccolo of the probable break-down in the Supreme Kais psyche after all of the events so far, had kept a reluctant guard nearby should it prove true- which was indeed occurring.

"Stop!" Grand Kais' voice shouted in a panic as the fused saiyan shot skyward and caught Kaioshin by the shoulders. He recognized the insanity staring back at him, having seen it so often displayed on worlds decimated through Vegetas efforts. As such there wasn't much he could do to bring him back under control without a demonstration of effort.

He couldn't deliver the knock-out blow before his brain was under attack from a psychic strike.

Releasing the Supreme Kai and shaking his head violently to dislodge the ringing and pain, he was struck by the same area-wide destroying hailstorm of ki. Thick smoke rose up into the air with a sizzling scent of burning skin and a pained grunt before, after several seconds, one hand snapped out from it to wrap around Kaioshins throat and squeeze down tight enough to bruise it.

"_That will be enough_." the saiyans dual voices ordered, wind spiraling around the form and blowing away the smoke. Blood dripped from his face, right shoulder, and much of his back where the attack had landed but nothing so serious as to stop him. With a rush of ki as he ascended upward into each stage of Kaioken still under his control to that point- which was regrettably limited-, further blowing his power above Kaioshins, he brought the last god of the universe face to face.

Kaioshin reacted on instinct with another paralyzing psychic attack and found his world instead inverted and rushing past- he hit the soil below a moment later to carve out a long stretch of dirt, and Vegetto lowered his outstretched arm from the throw. Grand Kai howled in outrage at the disrespect being shown but was cut off by a sharp cough from the gathered mound at the Supreme Kais backside.

Shaking his head as violently as Vegetto had prior, he slowly brought a hand up and a yellowy-white light washed over his tattered clothing and bleeding skin. What wounds were created vanished and, after a moment, he slowly pushed upward to his feet. The anger still burned in his eyes, but a sign of understanding came with it. He scowled upward at the fused saiyan and managed a teleportation toward him, keeping a steady ten feet between.

Vegetto kept his guard up and one hand locked into position to retaliate should the Kaioshin attack again, but the motion was waved aside as Kaioshin gestured and spoke. "I will not_ thank you _for reminding me of reality from dream, but the preventive measure you used at the least kept another of the Kaios dwindling race from dying. _Do not presume lay a hand upon me again_." he threatened.

Vegettos hair bristled and rose along the back of his neck in agitation. He beat the instinct to attack back down and grunted. 'He's changed. More than I knew or expected.' he thought. "So I have." Kaioshin stated flatly in response to the thought. Vegetto recoiled in surprise, then anger. "Stay out of my mind!" he demanded. In an instant rage sparked in Kaioshins eyes and he backhanded the saiyan with both physical and psychic energy around his hand.

Blood rushed from a torn lip as his head was snapped to one side. Disbelief etched itself onto his face. 'Did he...?' "Did you just _slap me_?" he asked in the same incredulous tone. "Know your place!" Kaioshin ordered, anger lacing his voice. 'Tch.' the power the fused saiyan had just allowed to fade exploded back to the surface and blanketed the area.

A dark aura burned the air around Vegetto as his hair was tinted deeper red and his pupils seemed to fade out. "Know.. _my_ place? You ungrateful, self-righteous son of a *****! Where were you while my son died? Where were you when Coola and his father were active in space? Where were you while threats like Cell were even allowed to be born in the first place!" he demanded, matching each sentence with a kiai that tore at Kaioshins form and sent him tumbling head over feet away.

"I've had enough of you lording your status over the rest of us! Why don't you contribute to the fight like the rest of us mortals once in a while?" Vegetto demanded, anger clouding his own judgment.

Kaioshin snarled and vanished. 'Where-' his thoughts were cut off as the Supreme Kai reappeared at his back, this time with the same kind of katchin weapon as he had summoned to fight Piccolo.

With a crash the full-blooded saiyan caught the deadly weapon in one hand and slammed his other hand into Kaioshins waist. Despite the speed it passed right though empty air as Kaioshin warped and attacked from another angle. Each time the saiyan turned toward the Supreme Kai he would vanish again.

Their match continued in such a way for several moments before Kaioshin appeared and remained in place. He locked eyes with the full-blooded saiyan and slammed his mental attack forward in rapid bursts, breaking off for a split second and than driving forward again to disorient and confuse Vegetto.

"Aarh!" tearing his eyes to the side, Vegetto's power level faltered for an instant. It wasn't long. It wasn't much more than a single second. But that second of a lowered guard was all it took for the katchin blade to briefly have a higher power level through Kaioshin, and then the blade burst out of his chest at a sharp angle with pieces of the heart left behind on it.

* * *

Piccolos eyes snapped open at the ki roaring to life not far off. He had been dozing atop the dome-barracks of the evil, trying to get some rest while being nearby should they grow troublesome, but the familiar ki and the level in which it shot upward awoke him fully. 'What...?' he searched to see who was nearby the saiyan and grimaced sharply. 'Kaioshin.' a few moments later and he was rushing over the landscape as swiftly as he could in his exhausted state.

But it was not toward that encounter, no. He had something he needed to do, but without the strength to teleport any more for at least several days, he had come up with something to stall until it could be put into motion.

He felt for Trunks ki and found it rapidly rising and falling. A dreadful feeling rose in the pit of his stomach- 'Trunks has lost his father before. And it awoke his transformation.' with a grimace he forced another kaioken out of his body today, straining his strength and speed to the breaking point, and shot forward with the hope that he could contain the demi-saiyan in time.

* * *

Trunks was sleeping deeply. He was fatigued from the ordeal of these recent events and this days battles in particular. His dreams were not happy ones, however. Oh, they had started off well enough, with him, his mother and father eating around a table outside Capsule Corp., but that didn't last long before things changed.

_Vegetto clutched at his heart and grimaced, eyes widening. A beam of ki had cut through him, thrown from Demon King Piccolos children, who now floated around the trio. In moments his mother was burned to ash from a similar attack, as Trunks stared in utter horror._

_A short distance before him both Demon King Piccolo and Cell walked forward. Cell gestured for the other to go first, and Piccolo smiled darkly at him with an inclination of the head, jumping forward to drive one hand through Vegettos skull in a spray of blood and bone- the fingers jutted outward from between the eyes with the mar of pink matter._

_The other hand sliced cleanly through the neck, and Piccolo brought the head upward to stare at it distastefully. "Dead at last." he spoke softly, then looked back to Trunks. The demi-saiyan couldn't move. Literally. His arms were held back by Piccolos children, and Cell himself shredded the muscle and bone with several well placed Death Beams._

_The pain lanced through him and he screamed. He tried to power up. He tried to access Kaioken. Cell amped up to match him, and then take it even further, eyes alighting and fading as the aura of pSSJ flared to life around him. "No! NO! You can't do that!" Trunks shouted, desperately trying to transform himself._

_Cell took a step forward, and then another, raising a single finger. He brought it forward and placed it to Trunks face at a slight angle, and a blade of energy formed from it to melt the skin off his bone. He yelled. The blade cut off section by bloody section before it paused and he reached over to grab Vegettos head from Piccolo._

_Lofting it just before Trunks, Cell smiled down at him. "You knew better than to challenge the god of the universe. I am Kaioshin, I am Supreme Kai. And you... you are no longer alive." the blade cut through Vegettos skull and then sunk into Trunks own-_

His body was on it's feet before he knew it, the room literally melting around him as his aura sparked and ignited flames. His hair hung straighter into the air, a dark red tinge inter mixing with the black-purple. His eyes flickered back and forth between invisibility and a shade of ice- as deep down within his core, the rage required to bring forth the final transformation into a Super Saiyan was created; yet without the power, the needed blood of one within him tainted and too diluted with common saiyan and human blood to trigger.

But he had been genetically altered after birth to bring out the fullness of his strength. He had received so many Zenkai' as a child to a teenager, been so close to dying as a mere toddler all but every day of his life; with the right push that transformation could be forcefully attained.

And right now Son Trunks was thirty percent of the way there. When Trunks opened his eyes he saw not the destruction around him. What he felt was the way his fathers power level was amped up so highly and then faltering; and he saw before his eyes the death of his father in the future.

His hair angled closer to being upright, and for a moment his eyes were deeper ice than before. It was at that moment that Piccolo crashed through to his room and forced through the power and aura around the demi-saiyan. The noise didn't register. Nothing did, save the moment when his fathers power level vanished.

And he vanished from the room right after it's last location, knocking the namekian aside like an ant in his rush. "Damn it!" Piccolo snarled from half-way through a wall, skin melting in places and down to the bone where it had touched Trunks aura.

The shock-waves left behind in the wake of Trunks movements distorted the air behind him enough to tear a hole in Kaishins atmosphere. It was almost so fast as to replicate teleportation, for one instant he was half-way around the world and the next he was hanging in the air around him with half the landmass torn free and following the gravitational pull he had briefly attained.

He looked down at Vegettos fallen body, held by Grand Kai. Then his gaze slowly directed itself upward. It locked onto a shocked Kaioshin and the bloody sword in hand. Rage. Thoughts would not come. He had sunken into a state of mind without thought, one of pure instincts. The first instinct had been one to find his father, and if possible protect him. Now his instinct screamed at him to kill.

Kaioshin stared at the battered, bloody form of Son Trunks with disbelief at the ki rolling out in waves from the demi-saiyan. For a moment he thought, 'This is what will be needed to stop Buu.' For a moment he recalled the duty and reason for why he had brought Goku and Vegeta to fuse in the first place.

The next moment he was in the upper reaches of the atmosphere around Kaishin with half his skin reduced to smoke and ash and bones jutting out of his back and shoulders where the rib-cage had been imploded with no where to go. Internal organs were shredded to bloody flakes.

When his body began falling back toward Kaishin, his mouth was torn wide open, the lips and cheeks around them actually ripping open from the strain he put into the silent scream of absolute agony. The pain he had suffered in the Demon Realm was terrible, burning his soul as it had, but this level of physical pain went beyond mind-numbing and bounced right back to full attention.

He could hardly concentrated long enough for a sickly yellow-white light to rinse outward from his spinal cord along his waist and upward to his chest. He hit the surface of the ocean of Kaishin while only partially healed and ripped the newly bonding flesh open wide again. This time he had lungs to scream with.

* * *

**Demon Realm**  
When Trunks arm was half-way through its punch his form vanished from the surface of Kaishin. All it had taken was but a single touch and enough concentration, but Piccolo had successfully been able to warp him into that separate dimension without being right there beside him, where Trunks rage could be unleashed without consequence.

The sudden disappearance of his enemy was confusing. But he had plenty of other distractions. What was left of Dabra's people did not feel the power flowing from Trunks, only saw he looked confused and out of his senses. And without the Demon King around to speak for them, that meant this creature was their next meal.

Trunks felt them swarming toward him and, rather than fighting just one enemy, he now had dozens to target with his instinctual rage. They never stood a chance. And once he had slaughtered all there was to kill, he turned his wrath onto the very dimension itself.

* * *

Narrator: Things are beginning to move forward again! With Vegetto dead, what will happen to his fusion state? What will Kaioshin do once he recovers? And what with be the result of Son Trunks extreme rage? Read onward for the next preview!

* * *

=Future=

He had done it. At last, just enough energy had been gathered to revive Buu. For decades he had been forced to travel outside of his intended zone, but it was worth it. And all he had left to do now was to tap into that namekians life force and bend his will to Babidis own for the fight; child's play, for all the darkness swimming within it. Before Babidi could celebrate any further the door to his chambers opened and Broly walked inside.

"One hour to landing. Two hours to locating Buu's shell." he stated. Babidi eyed the saiyan. "Fine, fine! Just be prepared to use 100% of your power! I've watched this namekian and his children fighting. He's the damnable reason it took me nearly twenty years longer than originally envisioned to get here!" the wizard swore.

Broly shrugged. His strength had grown in that time frame. He was probably twice as powerful now as he had been twenty years prior, and his fighting techniques were unmatchable. 'Which means I'm the first subject for Buus appetite.' he thought distastefully, keeping his face otherwise blank.

* * *

Old Kaioshins entire body froze up with shock. A horrifying realization came to him as he looked through his crystal ball. "Where has Babidi been for all these years? What if he awakens Buu in the past... and now?" he uttered slowly. Kaioshins head swiveled up to look at him with wide eyes. "What are you seeing?" he demanded. Old Kaioshin turned to him. "Alien ships have landed at Earth."

* * *

=Past=

"So this is what happens when a Saiyan really gets in a snit." Frieza stated sarcastically. "How fascinating. Why, it's no wonder the universe as a whole was such a lovely place all these millennium! And your," he paused to make sure the emphasis got across firmly, "Kaioshin wants ANOTHER one of these on the lose?" Piccolo gestured sharply for him to shut up as the third member of the group voiced an opinion.

"We don't have time for this! He needs to settle down before he causes even further damage to the stability of the universe! Between the dimensional fractures and the splintering of the timeline, we can't afford further cosmic destruction of this scale!" Grand Kai snapped at both of them. Ahead of them a section of the Demon Realm winked out of existence, obliterated. Trunks directed another attack at the sky around him in an effort to break free without the current Demon Kings permission.


	37. Chapter 36

A/N: Thank you for the patience, J.W. Appel.

"ITS VEGITO" I've seen his name written as Vegerot(VIZ manga stateside, ugh), Vegetto, and Vegito. I'm not sure how they got that 'I' in there since neither Vegeta nor Goku or even Kakarot(to) have one to their name, which is one reason I haven't ever used it here, and I definitely don't intend to start applying the latter, thus Vegetto.

"Well I'm not sure how this is going to work with the Vegeta-half attracted to Bulma and the Goku/Kakarrot half attracted to and married to Chichi... and what the heck will Gohan say? Father doesn't quite fit right there... HEY ITS HALF-DAD! doesn't sound quite right either..."

So far the deal with Bulma applies solely to the Future Vegetto. _He_ moved on from Chi-chi's death and made the best of his situation. The present Vegetto never really got attracted to Bulma and so far hasn't had the chance to consider her, what with all the fighting and training he's been doing.

For now both Gohan and Trunks consider Vegetto to be their dad equally, since any trouble Gohan may have held toward the fusion would have been dealt with on the way back from Namek, and Trunks was conceived and raised with Vegetto as he already was. Thank you for the review though.

* * *

**Kaishin**  
Piccolo broke the surface of the water with Kaioshins shredded form held limply over one shoulder. The god was unconscious from his strained efforts; the strain to heal, to survive, to recover before he truly died again.

The whole time a faint buzzing had been floating around the back of Piccolos mind, almost as soon as he had taken off to collect his superior in the cosmic jurisdiction. Rising to the air, the namekian shot off for dry land and soon found his thoughts tumbling over one another.

'This can not be helped. I truly had not wished to do this, but their is no other choice. His mind is fractured beyond normal repair by his own hands. As Son Trunks did with his brother, so to will I do with Kaioshin.' the buzz rose in intensity and for a moment stars swam before his eyes, then just as quickly they faded away.

Shaking his head sharply to try and clear it, Piccolo set down at the nearest land mass and realized a snafu in his idea. '... Trunks has the Time Machine. Well, no matter. It shouldn't take much longer for his rage to burn out with the time differential in the Demon Realm and the rest of the universe.'

Kaioshin was set down on his back and checked over to verify all his physical wounds were healed. To his surprise jagged scars ran down over the repaired flesh, trace remnants of Trunks aura and ki permanently seared into the very DNA of the Supreme Kai.

'I don't understand how this can be... but it is merely one more reason to hate the saiyan once he awakens.' raising one hand and waving it, new cloths materialized over Kaioshins body and held firm. A moment later and his head rocked forward of its own accord, pain flashing behind his eyes as though a set of spikes were being hammered through to the skull.

"Gyaah!" raising one hand slowly to his head, he turned in the direction of an approaching power level. To his dismay, once he could see and confirm, the Grand Kai was moving quickly over the land with the South Kaio at his heels.

Another pain, and unconscious gesture on the part of his skull. He sank to one knee. "So you are experiencing a far more direct result." Grand Kai called across the air still between them, coming to a halt after half a minute longer. Piccolo found the strength to raise his head and demand, slowly, "_What_?"

South Kaio looked him over. "These ripples. Beneath Hell, where the path leads down to Demon Realm. Something want out sharply, heavily, striking forcefully against will that is yours to contain it." he explained slowly in his own right, the least exhausted of the other Kaio save Grand Kai himself from their efforts under Cell's orders.

Another blaze of agony. Piccolo was on his hands and knees, struggling to keep from kissing dirt. Grand Kai placed one hand to his shoulder. "Rise quickly before it strikes again! We must do something about whatever you did with that halfbreed saiyan before he breaks through!" Piccolo forced one foot underneath him and rose slowly, his vision swaying.

"I shall accompany you. Seek out one other." South Kaio also placed a hand to Piccolos shoulder- or as high as he could reach. "Who?" Piccolo demanded, feeling the strain about to strike again. "Changeling of Katchin." "Frieza?" "Ah, him, yes." shuddering as he planted his feet as firmly as possible to resist the next wave, Piccolo felt weakly for Friezas ki and then vanished from sight.

Far away, Frieza disappeared from his talk with Kuriza in mid-sentence, startling the younger changeling and only annoying the elder once he would reappear. As for Piccolo, Grand Kai, and South Kaio, each left Kaishin behind for a far more destructive and dark dimension on the brink of collapsing.

* * *

**Demon Realm**

Hurricane force winds assaulted the four of them, when they reappeared. The sky rippled as Trunks drove one fist against it again, the ripples rolling out and downward to crash against the surface and tear yet another piece of it free in time to evaporate into gray matter and then simply fade out with a dull flash of light.

"What in the name of hell is going on?" Friezas voice howled over the den of noise surrounding them. Piccolo dropped to the ground, panting, in no condition to answer just yet, allowing Grand Kai the chance to do so for him.

"Quiet! If the saiyan halfbreed notices us here, his wrath will be attracted away from destroying the very fabric of existence within this pocket branching off from the rest of the universe!" Frieza stared at him coolly before looking up at Trunks overhead.

He humphed and shook his head. "So this is what happens when a Saiyan really gets in a snit." Frieza stated sarcastically. "How fascinating. Why, it's no wonder the universe as a whole was such a lovely place all these millennium! And your," he paused to make sure the emphasis got across firmly, "Kaioshin wants ANOTHER one of these on the lose? "Then why am I here?" he questioned.

Grand Kai ignored his tone but hesitated a moment. "You will act as... the distraction. Your unique limb situation will give you the ability to endure his blows as I conjure the katchin bindings to pierce his aura and en-capture his form. South Kaio will generate the weights needed to hold him down, it may be possible to keep him from successfully breaking loose."

Friezas look got more and more icy as Grand Kai outlined the details. He finally shook his head. "No. You got yourselves into this mess, and you will get yourselves out of it. I won't be any part of this insane and suicidal bid." he stated fiercely.

Piccolo managed to sit up and gesture for him to shut up. The blows against the the realm were fading. Overhead Trunks turned his eyes to the new power levels finally noticed. In a rush of wind heard even over the slow decay of the Demon Realm, he rushed down at them.

"!" "****!" materializing a wall of dense metal before him only just kept Piccolo from having a hole added to his chest. Trunks crashed into the thick wall and sent it careening wildly to the side, crushing what it didn't tear open of South Kaio.

He never had a chance. The others reacted as swiftly as they could. Frieza reversed his transformations to rise in power back to his fourth form, forcing what he knew of the kaioken to gather over his form in protection against the heat and destructive energy of the demi-saiyans aura.

Grand Kai thrust his fingers outward in a wild splay, locking them together awkwardly, and from the very sand around them thin yet swift ropes of katchin erupted and barely managed to lock together stiffly before him in time to wrap around Trunks right fist an inch from Grand Kai's nose.

Skin melted beneath the heat, but he gritted his teeth together and repeated the motion stiffly. Another rushed from the sand to wrap around one foot tightly and hold him still. Trucks other fist crashed against the katchin ropes to no avail, sending out another wild set of ripples around him. Sand melted down to gray matter and evaporated where the ripples touched, freeing the bindings of katchin from their foundation beneath.

Trunks swung the now free and diamond shaped metal at Grand Kais throat. It passed harmlessly through thin air as Piccolo relocated him a short distance away. Namekian and changeling locked eyes for an instant and came to an instant agreement.

Frieza thrust out his right hand with a shout, and a sphere of light wrapped around Trunks body. It fought against the aura to hold him in place. The strain showed as veins stood out beneath the surface of the changelings skin.

Piccolo brought his power and kaioken to full and for a time, released the darkest aspects of his psyche and soul to the surface. The rush of additional power wasn't much, but it rejuvenated him to a degree much needed. And this darker aspect had no problems with causing physical pain. Summoning a scimitar to hand, he transferred the weight and strength of his form over to it and his right arm solely, borrowing the move Vegetto had used against him earlier that day.

With a shout he swung the weapon at Trunks ribcage. The demi-saiyan pulled against Friezas psychic binding as Grand Kai finished raising the six walls around him. Piccolos blade contacted the dual aura and Frieza hissed, releasing it beneath the backlash of pain, and allowing Trunks to spin and retaliate.

The demi-saiyans left hand pressed against the surface of the scimitar and felt pain register through his rage. Blood rain down his arm as the aura was pierced and continued forward, slicing through thumb and palm to carry forward and sink into the ribs before Piccolo could hold his strength any longer.

Trunks kicked him in the stomach and disintegrated the lower portion of the namekians body, burning the now worthless sword to ash in the process as his aura recovered and cauterized the damage to his hand.

Before any further could occur, a wall of katchin shot up before him, than over head and at his back. Two more flanked his sides and the final slid in beneath his feet. All six slammed together. Katchin rope, far thicker than before, overlaid it and criss-crossed around, then thinner pieces joined together, forming a complete layer across each side.

Grand Kai clutched at his chest in agony from the effort, gasping. Frieza lowered his own outstretched hand to finish guiding the rope. It had been an amazingly swift discussion between the two, and the changeling agreed in time to make the summoning of the slabs of katchin not be in vain.

Piccolo coughed up pale purple blood as he barely regenerated his lower body. Howling echoed out of the prison they had formed to contain Trunks body, along with the noise of his further attacks against it, but nothing rippled. The rapid destruction of the Demon Realm had been averted, for now, but the damage done would become irreversible soon enough. And as the dimension grows closer to folding in on itself, the difference in time between it and the rest of the universe would quickly diminish before speeding up.

* * *

**Kaishin, approximately twenty years into the future**

Gohan yawned tiredly. That was the thing, since he had been reunited as a whole being two months ago. He grew tired a lot easier. And the guilt of his actions in Cells tournament didn't help him any, either.

But he had gained determination in equal measures. He wouldn't allow that time be spent in vain. Impossible to undo, yes, but something he could learn from all the same. He could still teleport, albeit with a terrible strain of concentration. And the sword held at his right hip by a white and yellow sheath was no longer a threat to his state of mind, not with the mental training he had been given.

He hardly noticed the growling of the demonic energy and, he hardly dared call it this, evil intellect trapped within the weapon. It couldn't take him over these days so long as he kept a proper state of mind, allowing him to take full benefit of a heightened power level and easier use of Janembas technical teachings without the cost of turning traitor to anyone he once knew.

Nevertheless, he was still trapped on Kaishin until the two Supreme Kai deemed him fully recovered. And he ultimately doubted that even with the threat of Buu looming on the far horizon that his slumbering inner potential would be risen to the surface, just in case the sword took him over or he defected to Babidi's cause.

"_Well_." Elder Kaioshin announced, catching both Gohan and his descendants attention. "Hm?" turning from the sky and facing them, Kaioshin approached. "What is it?" he asked. Raising an eye to Gohan, Elder Kaioshin stated "Your half-brother's been contained before any further cosmic destruction could be leveled against the universe. I swear, why we allowed you saiyans to keep on existing after the first signs of blood-lust ran out of control..." he trailed off.

Gohan blinked. "Uh, alright. What was he doing?" he questioned. "See for yourself." summoning up a second crystal ball, Elder Kaioshin rolled the slightly weathered one he had been using over to the demi-saiyan and placed the new and fresh one down before himself, staring down into it after a moment.

Gohan caught the object and settled down to look into it. He whistled softly at the destruction and containment device chosen by the others for Trunks. "That is a lot of katchin for a non-kaioshin to come up with." he stated. The Supreme Kai dropped down before him and leaned down to get a look. He nodded briskly. "And he managed to draw in hardened katchin from the edge of the universe for the main walls, a feat in such quantity that I myself would be strained to come up with on such short notice. I am impressed." he stated.

* * *

About an hour prior, far out in space from Kaishin, a fleet of metallic asteroids descended on a set course towards the earth. Contained within it were forces seeking to revive a millions of years old monstrosity contained in a soft golden shell buried far below the planets surface.

Babidi was wearily overjoyed. He had done it. At last, just enough energy had been gathered to revive Buu, as for decades now he had been forced to travel outside of his intended zone of the galaxies in order to find worthy sources of life energy and ki... but it was so worth it. And all he had left to do now was to tap into that namekians life force and bend his will to Babidis own for the fight needed to ensure Buu was raised to 100% of his power; such child's play, for all the darkness swimming within it. Before Babidi could celebrate or reminiscent of his plans any further the door to his chambers clicked opened and Broly strode inside.

"One hour to landing. Two hours to locating Buu's shell." he stated. Babidi eyed the saiyan tiredly. "Fine, fine! Just be prepared to use all of your power! I've watched this namekian and his children fighting. He's the _damnable reason_ it took me nearly _twenty years_ longer then originally envisioned to get here!" the wizard swore fiercely.

Broly shrugged at the orders. His strength had grown in that time frame most nicely from the continuous fights, sometimes against foes of equal or greater power than he had been willing to demonstrate. He was probably twice as powerful now as he had been twenty years prior, and his fighting form and techniques were unmatchable. 'Which means I'm the first subject for Buus appetite.' he thought distastefully, keeping his face otherwise blank.

He had no disillusions any more about what would happen once Buu awoke. He had overheard more than enough to ensure that much. 'Whatever resistance the Kaioshin once held will be swept aside or eaten. Babidi cares no further for any but his own being and Buus than to place each of us upon a golden platter and be served to his fathers creation.' unfortunately for Broly, ever since Garlic was murdered and cast the spells to awaken Broly from Babidis loose control, the wizard had reinforced the nature of the Majin Charm.

Broly could no more directly harm Buu or Babidi than to breath in open space, even if he wanted to. But that did not mean that he couldn't _indirectly_ influence things. Try to alter Buus nature to kill Babidi for him, or perhaps any of the others under the wizards control to do the task for him.

Then it would be a matter of struggle. Either Broly would succeed or he wouldn't, and this universe and the life within was doomed to annihilation. "Go now. I have preparations to conduct." Babidi's voice interrupted Broly's silent musings. "As you command." with a slow bow of the head, Broly turned and left.

* * *

Old Kaioshin looked down into his new crystal ball and realized he had botched the settings. Rather than the past, it was on the future. His mind was always partially on the threat of Buu, and in his inattention he had returned to spying up the enemies location.

And his entire body froze up with shock. A horrifying realization came to him as he looked through his crystal ball. "What if he awakens Buu in the past... and now?" he uttered slowly. Kaioshins head swiveled up to look at him with wide eyes. "What are you seeing?" he demanded. Old Kaioshin turned to him. "Alien ships have landed at Earth. Ships in which Babidi dwells."

* * *

**Kaishin, approximately twenty years earlier**

A year can pass very swiftly, or dredge by at an impossible rate. Son Trunks rage at last burned it's way through him after only a few hours more, leaving the saiyan on the brink of death- and not for the first time. His bindings were undone, his form bloody and bones well broken against the unbreakable hardened-katchin surface.

What was done to heal him was done, and then he was put to rest outside of the Demon Realm as Piccolo took the chance of trying to raise Senzu within the collapsing dimension. It was terribly slow progress, and if not for the special soil taken from Karin Tower and implemented here behind a force field to protect it, the plant would never have grown at all.

Eventually the day came when Piccolo checked upon it after almost a full years time to discover that a few beans had managed to sprout. He gathered them up, departed the Demon Realm, and arrived to find a week had passed outside of it. Far, far faster a time than it should ever have been.

'So the collapse is speeding up, and the slowing of time weakening as it does.' he thought. He approached where Son Trunks was still in deep rest, barely alive, and forced the senzu down his throat. Physically his wounds recovered, but mentally he remained almost in a coma.

"So you've come." a stale voice declared. Piccolo spun to find Kaioshin standing watch a ways off. "... I have. We will need him in the war against Buu to come, with his... father dead." he paused, deciding if it was worth risking Vegettos name in the others presence. Kaioshin tensed his shoulders but did not otherwise react.

"Yes.. I had forgotten that. Ten years of torture... even I in this mentally degraded state can recognize how troubled I have become. The last of my race... but that abomination's threat and tone..." he trailed off into silence as he recalled Cell, and his power pulsed in anger.

Piccolo tensed up. He did not want to implement this plan, not while Kaioshin was conscious. Better slumbering than awake. But before he could even make a move, the Supreme Kai turned to face him. "I sense your intentions. Rest. I agree with them. I need healing, a healing I can not obtain here. I will ascend to the future and meet my counterpart. Together we will restore my current self to my past sanity." warping past Piccolo, he appeared outside of the still ruined mansion of Grand Kai's and activated the capsule.

The heavy set Time Machine appeared with a low crunch. Kaioshin rose into the air and stepped inside the cockpit, then set it for the appropriate two decade jump. That would give his future counterpart plenty of time to have cleared up anything that he might have been working on. Slowly the machine rose to the air with a heavy humm and vanished from this timeline.

Piccolo watched him go with a sense of worry. 'It shouldn't have been that easy.' he thought. But a more pressing matter had to be dealt with now. He had to seek out Vegettos soul, wherever it may be in Other World, and then find out if he would be willing to return to life. Because there was only a single way left to any of them now, with Shenron and the Dragon Balls erased from this timeline.

* * *

Narrator: And so things begin! Trunks rampage finishes up, Kaioshin willingly concedes to be healed, and Future Babidi has landed upon Trunks home earth in the Original Timeline(aka Timeline 1). But how will the wizard react to the loss of Demon King Piccolo? How will the Kaioshins handle the threat of Buu's revival now that, for them, the time is nigh? And what will Gohan do? Keep on reading for the next preview of Dragon Ball Z; Divine Intervention!

* * *

=Future=

The Time Machine appeared over Kaishin twenty years after it had departed. In the middle of a hill. The weight quickly toppled the machine free from where it's lower body was trapped, sending Kaioshin tumbling around within until his head collided and knocked him unconscious.

* * *

He awoke to find himself staring up at... himself. "Hmph! Some descendant you are!" an old and annoyed tone declared from somewhere to his left. Kaioshin warily glanced over and saw... and incredibly old looking figure. One wearing the same outfit as himself. "Descendant?" he repeated in disbelief.

* * *

=Past=

Vegetto eyed Piccolo distastefully. "Not going to happen. I'll take my chances like this." he responded, then stood up and guided Piccolo away from the small bench where Chi-chi and he were found at. "Piccolo, if Guru created the namekian Dragon Balls in the future, and then traveled to the past to fuse with you in another dimension, what happened to _those_ Dragon Balls? Stone spheres, or still in proper order?" his voice was quiet, yet curious.


	38. Chapter 37

A/N: Two updates together this times, guys, so don't skip over Chapter 36 by mistake!

* * *

**Kaishin, approximately twenty years in the future**  
A blurred distortion appeared in the air a moment or two prior to a loud _humm_, which accompanied the sudden realization of a dark yellow and black machine. Unfortunately for it's lone inhabitant, the Time Machine formed in a space already occupied.

A hill of dirt and rock was exploded outward to give the far heavier machine room to rest, leaving it cocked on two of it's four legs. "What.. ?" the past Supreme Kai's question was cut short as weight and gravity took a hold after only a moment and threw the vehicle forward and to the ground.

Thankfully it had been well reinforced three years earlier, and the rough fall did no damage to the Time Machine itself. The inhabitant, on the other hand, had no such luck. He looked around wildly for the ground for a single moment before a low crash and rumble echoed across the area where metal met ground, and skull collided to metal within. His conscious thought fled, leaving the past Kaioshin bleeding far from where any should find him.

* * *

When his eyes next opened, it was to see a concerned visage of... _himself_? No, a little younger looking in the face. Fewer stress lines, but not by much. The eyes not filled with the same burning loathing of everything he took in. And the skin and hair was so much cleaner, clearer. In some ways it was as though he were looking into a mirror of his past.

But that idea was firmly destroyed as an aged and annoyed tone spoke. "_Well_! Some descendant _you've_ turned out to be!" It took a moment for those words to sink in, but when they did his head snapped to the side and he uttered "_Descendant_?" And yes, the elderly figure a short distance away did indeed resemble him; or rather the cleaner, more pleasant doppelganger hanging over him.

With an unpleasant "Hmph!" the elder looked back down into a crystal ball before him, face returning to it's unpleasant look of concern. The double above him reached down and yanked the past Kaioshin to his feet. "I suppose you're here to be repaired." he began. "Unfortunately, we don't have the time here. Babidi just landed on earth." Future Kaioshin stated. Past Kaioshin stared in disbelief at his counterpart.

"Fortunately, I've been contemplating your situation for some time. It was only a matter of realizing when you'd turn up and if it would interfere with other subjects." Future Kaioshin continued, glancing at Gohan for a moment before turning to their ancestor, and adding "We shouldn't be gone for more than an hour." he turned once more toward Gohan behind them. "If you can stall them, do so, but do not get in over your head. Some kind of plan will be born by the time we return." and, after a moment to stare his past visage in the eye, the two of them vanished with a soft whoosh of air.

Gohan looked over with concern on his face as they teleported away. "Looks like I'm going to get my chance at redemption sooner than expected." rising to his feet, he approached Elder Kaioshin and looked down into the crystal ball there.

* * *

The doors slid up and retracted to the sides in turn, allowing those within their first breath of planet-side air in years. A tall humanoid form descended the steps first, placing an aged yet clearly modified scouter over one eye. He tapped it twice before turning back to the opening. A dozen different races baring a strong black 'M' across their foreheads trotted out after him.

"We've the life-energy needed to revive Buu. Now a battle must be waged to bring Buu's strength to it's fullest baring. A great Namekian dwells within a dome in the sky, and while I engage it in combat, it is _your _duty to ransack this pathetic dust ball until you uncover Buu's shell. Be cautious! Do not unduly disturb the egg once you find it." the male voice ordered firmly. They murmured their assent, and after a moments hesitation, activated their own scouters and took off across the sky.

Broly looked over the landscape toward the white pole rising from the ground some miles away. His gaze slowly rose toward the inverted-dome far overhead. 'Perhaps you will be the one that frees me from this self-sacrificing goal.' he thought in flat tone. Hardly an instant later and he had kicked off the ground and surged forward, leaving behind a trail of afterimages in his wake and destroying what little landscape endured the landing.

When he arrived, however, it was not to discover his supposed foe in wait. Even after leveling half the palace nothing emerged, and certainly no power level was registered by his scouter since landing. He took his time about confirming that fact before grimacing and adjusting the setting of the scouter to a different signal than that of the henchmen beneath him. "Master Babidi. The namekian is gone." he spoke into it.

Babidi's voice responded telepathically. '_Then find him_! _Surely your scouter is equipped to handle that degree of kirii_!' the wizards voice was shrill, no doubt from frustration at one further delay to Buu's revival after all of the others over the last two decades able to be attributed to the namekian.

"Very well." tapping it to activate and then range upward to the degree they were expecting the namekian to be at, Broly still picked up nothing on the planet. With a frown he increased the range to any planets near by. At last he grimaced again. "There is no scouting for him at all on this planet. Or any other within this scouters capability." he stated.

Babidi howled in anger. '_Again_! _Again that shriveled soil sucker has dissolved my plans_!_ I won't stand for it_! _Destroy his home world_! _Maybe_ that'll _grab his attention_!' he ordered in the same manner, and after a couple of second delay, Broly was warped across space to land on Namek. To his distaste the culture was thriving. A few of the nearest took in the strangers sudden arrival with a frown. It hadn't been so long ago since Guru had vanished following the Super Nameks attack against them.

"Namekian of earth! If your power means more to you than this entire world, remain in hiding as the coward you are! If not rise and fight me! Or the demise of your race rests solely upon your shoulders!" he called out in as loud a voice as he could. The sound would stretch on for miles, and where it faltered others would relay the message.

Long before it spread across the planet, however, a different voice answered his call. Gohans form materialized from a series of distorted and warped blocks half a dozen feet away. It took him a second or two to fully form and then settle into a more comfortable stance, but when he did, his eyes shone with determination. "Try picking on someone capable of fighting back."

* * *

**Other World, approximately 20 years prior**  
Piccolo stood before King Yenma. "I'm looking for Vegetto- or Son Goku." he said. The massive oni sighed and flipped through his book with an annoyed haste. His fingers finally paused and he leaned down close to confirm. "Vegetto, hm. Yes, he has remained as a single entity rather than re-split into his separate halves. Currently residing in Heaven, though you may find him training in Hell as an alternative." he stated. "Now shoo! I haven't the time to look people up all day long!" he added dismissively.

Piccolo eyeballed him. "Isn't that exactly what you-" he began to protest the dismissal statement. King Yenma sighed again and slammed one fist down across the table, causing the floor to rumble beneath it. "I haven't the time to look people up at anothers request all day long!" he amended sharply, then pointed toward the exits. "_Now begone_! _And hope I do not see you again_!" he growled.

The namekian shrugged and turned to leave. A few minutes later and he had appeared just within the boundary of Heaven's field. A few wandering spirits jumped in surprise, but a guide approached rapidly. "Welcome, good... sir? Sir, yes, you are a sir I do believe! Rightly, welcome good sir to Heaven! You must have done excellently down below to retain a body, well done indeed!" the guide exclaimed rapidly and happily.

Piccolo grimaced. "I'm not dead." he stated. The guide lost his smile. "Well. You really shouldn't be here then, I'm afraid, so if you would be so kind as to please turn about and march back through the golden clouds behind you I'm sure we can all get back to enjoying our pleasant afterlives within!" he ordered in a quiet tone. "I'm looking for someone who _is_, and does belong here." Piccolo continued as though the guide hadn't spoken.

Now he frowned at the namekian. "That is all fine and good, sir, but until your time has passed and pending approval, you are not welcome up here at all! Now turn around and exit before I am forced to resort to force!" the guide ordered firmly. A vein stood out on Piccolos forehead in agitation. Tuning the annoying figure out, he focused on Vegettos ki and teleported to it.

"There! That's better." the guide stated, smiling again. "Let it not be said that we of Heaven allow intruders no chance to repent before striking them down." he was completely ill-prepared for the kiai that knocked him on his feet a moment later, shot off from some distance away.

* * *

Piccolo found his target sitting on a bench with a spirit beside him. He looked faintly tired around the eyes and as the namekian approached, he could see and hear the spirit bemoaning to the fused saiyan. Vegetto seemed to be close to zoning out, nodding his head occasionally and smiling grimly.

In a lull of one-sided conversation, Piccolo inserted his presence. "_Ahem_." he stated. Vegetto turned his head and the glaze over his eyes faded. He scanned the area overhead and noticed the lack of halo. The spirit screeched. "What are _you_ doing up _here_!" she demanded.

Piccolo ignored her. "Vegetto, there are things taking place we need to talk about. Things that may be unwelcome for others to hear of." his eyes roamed the floating cloud next to Vegetto. The saiyan grimaced. "This is my wife, Piccolo. I'm sure whatever you have to say can be heard by her." his eyes firmly disagreed with his mouth and his tail flickered with agitation.

Piccolo felt a bit of his old malice rise to the surface. It was good to see Vegetto receive some humbling out of his wife after all the arrogance he had previously left on display. Smiling thinly, he settled down into a position of meditation and floated over the ground near them. "Your secondary son nearly killed the Kaioshin." he said, testing the waters.

As expected, no mention of Trunks had been made to Chi-Chi. She rounded on the saiyan. Vegetto's tail flickered back and forth sharply as he swallowed his protests to her accusations and finally managed to get a word in after ten minutes of non-stop screeching. "He's from another timeline where the earth was nearly eradicated and I was under the control of an old enemy at the time. Don't blame _alternate reality me's_ for any actions taken therein, I've remained perfectly obedi- erm, loyal here!" he finished.

Silence held out for nearly a minute. "Who was it?" Chi-Chi asked. "B-" even before Piccolo could not-so-helpfully contribute, Vegettos voice overrode his and a kiai knocked the namekian from the air. "No idea, really. Trunks never deemed it needed to mention who." Glaring at Piccolo as he righted himself, the humor of the situation was finally replaced with the seriousness of the events that had to be spoken of, and Piccolo stood up again.

"Right now the stability of the universe is under strain. Trunks rage at your death nearly tore the Demon Realm open beneath Hell, and it was only after several hours caged in Katchin metal that he was brought under control- in a coma. I believe he suffered a similar action when he first transformed in the future with the original you's demise at the hands of the original me's children. His health was severely diminished, and even the senzu bean couldn't fully restore him." Piccolo told them.

"Kaioshin didn't even bother trying to help out after his last fore-ray into your son's mind. He vanished to the future to have his original self try and correct the damage of his own psyche. In the meantime you need to come back to life in preparation for the _looming threat_ Kaioshin feared." he added.

Vegetto shook his head. "I already spoke with Yenma. No Dragon Balls anymore." he responded. "I know. There remains one other method." stepping forward, Piccolo placed a hand on Vegettos left shoulder. "I can transfer what remains of my life to you, inverting our situations." he stated seriously.

Vegetto brushed the hand off and eyed Piccolo distastefully. "Not going to happen. I'll take my chances like this." he responded, then stood up and guided Piccolo away from the small bench where Chi-Chi and he were found at. "Piccolo, if Guru created the namekian Dragon Balls in the future, and then traveled to the past to fuse with you in another dimension, what happened to _those_ Dragon Balls? What happened to the wish in that separate dimension concerning the timeline split? Stone spheres, or still in proper order?" his voice was quiet, yet curious.

Piccolo blinked. "... I had not considered that. I... do not know, Vegetto. Do you believe it possible they remained untouched in the future? So long as I remain in the past?" he asked in turn. Vegetto nodded his head. "We'll have to find out. I'm not going to take someone else's life away from them to be revived." he said firmly. Piccolo simply shook his head. "You know none of this couldn't have been said in front of her, don't you? So what's the ulterior motive?" he questioned.

Vegetto sighed. "If Chi-Chi got the idea in her head that we could return to life, she'd never let me train again. I've barely been able to get some effort in down below before she was jumping down after to scold me for abandoning her in the afterlife as well!" At this Piccolo did manage a smirk. "I see. Looks like fusing hasn't diminished her ability to command you." "Oh, shut up."

* * *

**Namek, approximately 20 years in the future**  
Gohan locked hands with Broly, their auras flickering back and forth. One was a diluted shade of yellow-green, while the other was a sharp red. With a sharp skull-bash, the scouter over his eye was destroyed and the remnants rained down over their auras to be disintegrated. Hardly a moment later and Broly spoke. "I don't want to fight you." he stated in a low murmur just barely capable of being picked up by the other warrior.

Gohan grunted and slammed a knee to Broly's gut, which was negated as a leg rose to block it and sweep through both of their hands. Separated, Broly put some distance between them and howled out a taunt. The next chance they were close together again he continued. "Kill Babidi and spare us all of this trouble." he spoke in the same soft tone.

The conflicting response from the other saiyan was disturbing. Gohan knocked him backwards and opened his mouth to speak, but Broly threw a ki blast forward- enough to cause a lot of smoke and seem to cause much damage to the untrained eye, but hardly more than enough to singe through the clothing and leave a light layer of soot over the skin.

Gohan rushed through it with ki around his hands. 'Damn it, child!' Broly thought in frustration. His paranoia was confirmed as Babidi's voice interjected among his thoughts, 'What are you doing! _Strike_, _strike strike_! _Your fighting skills are unparalleled among the living_! _Disable the saiyan whelp and seek your true target with the ruining of this planet_!" the wizard snarled at him.

The questioning look in Gohan's eyes as he released his Masenko-ha in the others direction was left unanswered. Broly had no choice as he nimbly avoided, now that his words and thoughts were being watched again. "I didn't want to kill you as a fellow of our nigh-extinct race. Master Babidi commands your destruction with the rest of this world regardless! Fair well!" with that shouted warning, Broly brought his strength up and two yellow-green orbs of ki grew in the palms of his hands. He brought them overhead and then down toward Nameks surface.

Gohan shouted and brought up his Kaioken to race forward and intercept the death of this world, only to have his foe twist and descend toward Gohans path as the arms were brought around and the hands slammed together. A shock-wave of explosive ki rushed forward rather than downward and smashed into Gohan at an incredible speed.

The demi-saiyan choked up a mouthful of blood from where the two forces, that of the ki wave and himself, met at such intense velocity. He smashed through it, but the wound left in his chest and stomach still bled, and for a few seconds his stomach and organs were slammed against one another.

His Kaioken faltered and he fell to one knee just past the other saiyan. Broly rotated and locked his legs around Gohans form as the other passed, twisting to slam him head first into the ground. Dirt exploded around them as a two foot by three deep hole was created. Adjusting his grip Broly rotated around to take a hold of one arm and snap it at the shoulder- again, to the untrained eye, at any rate. In actuality all he did was pop the joint free of it's proper position. The pain was enough to mask the difference to Gohan himself, and certainly to the watching Babidi as well.

Rising to his feet and taking Gohans head in his hand, Broly stared eye-to-eye. And what he saw was not pleasant, for instead of murky confusion he saw a dark gleam begin to arise in the back of the pupil. A moment later and the good hand thrust out to the side and vanished in a rush of distorted blocks. When it reappeared less than an instant later the hilt of a sword emerged from seeming-nowhere with it, and rushed upward toward Broly's head.

The speed and power behind it nullified the others advantage when it came to relocating kinetic energy, to dissolve damage and absorb most any blow. The edge sliced through his forearm as Broly released Gohan's head and twisted aside. Red blood exploded from the severed elbow as it hit the ground with a wet splot. Shock etched it's way onto the elder saiyan's face as he looked down at the bleeding appendage and where it had left his arm behind.

Gohan landed on his feet and rolled forward, dragging the sword through the dirt and leaving it in a well aimed position to uppercut. It nearly lopped off his head as Broly brought up his other arm and released a blast of ki into the soil. It exploded upward and left a fifteen mile wide crack from end to end across the planets surface, putting several feet between the two warriors after Gohan was sent tumbling by the back-lash of wind and dirt. Broly snapped to his feet and cauterized his bleeding arm painfully before launching forward after the other warrior.

Pain exploded from his left ribcage as the scimitar cleanly snicked through flesh and bone. In seconds each had been severed from the others and torn free, leaving a wide triangle hole. His mind blanked for an instant before the clarity of the damage enshrouded him. Babidi's voice howled in outrage as his top servant was downed and left dying on Namek. '_Fool_! _Fool_!' the wizards voice went unheard within the saiyan's mind.

Gohan soared forward from where his body had been thrown, the hand grasping the sword still vanishing at the middle wrist to reappear at the others back. The scimitar was slowly drawn upward to hang over the back of the neck after Broly collapsed to the ground. Chanting the warping spell, Babidi barely managed to draw Broly back to the ship before the sword could do much more than nick the back of his neck as it rushed toward the ground.

Gohan tsked and drew it back to his arm, already feeling out the ki and confirming it's location. 'I'm going to enjoy this. _Son Gohan_ won't, but that's a problem for him to deal with in his own time. Right now I'm in charge, and Janemba's malice-revived will not allow the injuries unleashed against his latest apprentices body to go without equal and greater punishments to those responsible for the damage.' his grim smile ended at the darkness within his eyes, rising the longer the tainted sword rested in the demi-saiyans hand. He vanished into a world of distorted blocks through Janemba's twisted form of teleportation.

* * *

In hindsight, his arrogance would likely see him dead again someday. Broly had merely been the tip of Babidi's fortified iceberg. The ships defenses had rebuffed his teleporation at first, giving the nearly dead enemy saiyan the time to recover in a med-tank that would save him from deaths cold embrace.

Although annoyed, Janemba-in-Gohan had managed to tear it apart enough to slip through the cracks after a few minutes effort. The biggest problem following that was the counter-warping spell Babidi had continually cast against him, until the aging wizard had simply stopped for some reason. Once inside the ship itself he quickly encountered the re-enforcements and discovered that he couldn't teleport back out again.

He discovered quicker that he couldn't teleport at all within the ship. That one chink in his armor soon gave way to another and the reason for Babidi's ceased efforts to be rid of him came to clarity in full, black-hearted murderous rage.

He threw back his head and howled as the Majin charm burned into his forehead, and with it came... nothing else. No flood of power. No fitful transformations. Not even a blaze of Kaioken. The emblem merely scarred his forehead as it rallied the gathered darkness to obey a new commander.

* * *

**Kaishin, approximately twenty years in the past**  
The Time Machine hummed into existence again with Kaioshin at it's helm. His skin had lightened again, though his hair remained a sickly yellow-white. It had been hard to allow his future counterpart in so deeply to his mind, but at last it had been accomplished. It had taken ten years to undo the damage within the Room of Spirit and Time.

Ten years that, under normal circumstances, they would not have had. The loophole intended for Son Trunks and Vegetto was put to good use again with the Time Machine. At only perhaps half an hour following their departure from Kaishin, the duo reappeared with a much considered plan in place.

One would return to the past to truly set underway the preparations needed to stop Buu's revival, while the other would give aide to Son Gohan against Babidi's gathered troops already on earth.

For the longest time it was unknown which of them would go, until the day they returned to Kaishin. It was confirmed that some things had to remain as they were meant, and thus each remained to their own timelines.

Kaioshin rose from the cockpit and resealed the Time Machine, then warped to Son Trunks location. "This, my young friend, will not be pleasant. Not that you will know that just yet. Truly King Kai's aide would have helped... but such as it is." he felt no animosity toward the wayward demi-saiyan.

Those ten years weren't spent merely healing him. It was redirecting his anger and hatred elsewhere, teaching him patience much needed when dealing with this particular group of mortals. A humble Kaioshin he may not yet be, but a calmer one. Each of them had a role to play, even Cell, quite possibly the one that had been most difficult to come to accept as required.

* * *

The work took him days. That, too, he had learned. This area of his skill required care and effort, both of which he was more willing to deliver than prior. After six days with only the occasional hour to rest and recover, Kaioshin drew out of Son Trunks mind and slumped over with weariness.

The demi-saiyan's face was a pained grimace, but it faded after the Supreme Kai retreated from his brain. Along the almost-week of time Piccolo had managed to drag Vegettos soul back to Kaishin, where the two of them watched and discussed the merits of what was being done to Trunks- and if Kaioshin was still going to have his ass handed to him on a silver platter once it was finished with.

* * *

Narrator: Gohans will has waned, and the darkness, the demonic aspects imbued in him by the Demon Realm and later sealed into his scimitar, now turn out to be remnants of his former teachers will, Janemba? Has the ancient demon truly manifested his spirit again, or merely left subconscious strains of his attitude behind? And what now shall become of him, with a power level capable of reaching the billions dwelling within the fragile demi-saiyan shell now under Babidi's Majin charm?

Will Broly return, and if so, can he ever be freed of his set-course of death as a being- of eternal life and slumber within Buu's belly? And what of the plans devised by the two Kaioshin of past and future?

But here we depart from what must come next for the future and the afterlife, for while the saiyans and such were fighting against Cell for their survival, on Earth the left behind humans were about to begin a struggle for their own lives as well.

**Next time! An exclusive fanfiction dot next mini-saga, _Dr. Gero's revenge_, part I! Coming in the weeks ahead...**


	39. Exclusive Minisaga, Dr Geros Revenge, 1

A/N: And now, a special fanfiction (dot) net exclusive mini-saga, _Dr. Gero's Revenge_, set roughly two hour's following Cell's retrieval of Son Vegetto, Son Trunks, Frieza, and Kuriza from Earth to the end of the Cell Saga.

_Thank you also J.W. Appel and Luke for your reviews._

* * *

Tien let out a low sigh as he ascended the ladder high enough to reach Karin. It had been a few hours since Vegetto told him what was going on and then was whisked off to fight for the sake of the universe on a far away planet.

'Just like Namek all over again.' he had thought at that point, grimacing that even after all of his training with King Kai and the occasional sparring match with the others that he was still too weak to help out.

It was for that reason that he had come to the decision to seek out the Room of Spirit and Time... after some advice from an old friend. It wouldn't do him any good to speed a year training by himself or even, regrettably, with Chaozu if the increase he could gain was too small.

The aged cat looked over the edge as Tien gradually forced his fingers to make grips and pulled himself along the outside of the small platform, swinging up somewhat delicately with such a lowered power level. "Ah, Tenshinhan. What brings _you_ to my domain? Alone no less!" Karin greeted him in quiet surprise.

The man sighed. "I was hoping to get some advice from you." he began. "Ah?" Karin turned and settled into one of the chairs nearby, placing his staff upon the surface and giving his full attention to the other.

"And what kind of advice do you seek? I'm afraid you have long since surpassed any training I might hope to offer you, but if perhaps you need something more... theoretic?" Karin tested. Tien shook his head and looked up toward Kami's lookout above.

"I want to know if I should go forward and train like Son Vegetto and Son Trunks did. I want to know if you can tell me what chance my potential still has for growth." he admitted with reluctance.

Karin frowned. "Well. You are certainly not going any farther restraining your strength so far. Do not make _that_ mistake if you choose to keep going for it will surely stunt your power level once returned to your normal strength." the aged cat stated firmly.

The man nodded wearily. "Another failure." he murmured quietly, though at least he could rule out such an exercise if it came to that and at such low levels the rest of the team wouldn't sense him. "So can you do it? Is there any point in trying if the threats continue to rise so far beyond even _Vegetto_?" he asked.

Karin considered him in silence for a time, drumming his paws along the small table until at last standing up and gripping his staff again. "Come. I sense your hesitations in powering up so far at this point. Let us take to at least the depths of the lookout before making any further choices." the cat stated quietly.

Tien blinked a few times in surprise before nodding his head slowly. Karin hopped up onto his shoulder and gestured for the man to go, and taken by surprise again at the unexpected addition began to ascend into the air.

* * *

The various spy-bugs filtering throughout the sky reconfirmed for him what was needed and the computer system spoke it aloud. "Prime target, secondary target relocated off-world. Designated changeling race relocated off-world."

Turning from the singular screen within the depths of his laboratory, the scientist Dr. Gero looked upon the large round tube filled with green liquid and a tiny pulsating mass of cells and genetic matter. 'My greatest enemies are captive at the hands of _you_, my one true child, Cell.' he thought to himself with a wry smile playing across his lips.

He ran one hand over the incubating machine where even now the core was being grown from numerable DNA cultures of the greatest warriors the earth and the visitors to it had given to him unawares, longing to physically touch his proudest creation.

It was a true shame he did not have the resources to watch what was going on off world, for such a thing would put his last worry at ease. He would have thoroughly enjoyed watching the cursed saiyans terminated first hand, but simply knowing that his life's work would pay off in the end was rewarding enough under his circumstances.

But even still, perhaps there was something that could be done to satisfy his urges for vengeance in the meantime. "Computer. Tell me where the human companions of Son Goku are at." Dr. Gero ordered.

The screens around the lab room dimmed for a few moments as all of the spy-bugs flickered and rotated toward the general radius of the computers command signal, rapidly relaying the information they were picking up and passing it back before returning to their prior observatory duties.

After several seconds those in the proper areas settled into position and the images of Tien, Chaozu, Krillin, Muten Roshi, Ginyu, and lastly Yamcha appeared on the monitors within the lab.

"... Perhaps now is the perfect opportunity to test out Androids #13, #14, and 15. Only a few modifications remain on their energy absorption drives." he spoke to himself quietly, considering. It would not do him any good if his enemies were able to survive and escape the world again, let alone slip into the future and out of his reach entirely only to return after so many decades to exact just misguided justice.

"Computer. Verification code A22." Another dimming of the lights occurred as the computers soft voice spoke aloud, "Confirm: Finalize EA Drive system and install within subjects #13 #14 #15?"

"Confirmed." he answered. "Acknowledged. Estimated completion time of 7 hours, 28 minutes, 59 seconds. Estimated installation time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, 41 seconds. Estimated awakening time of 9 hours, 29 minutes, 44 seconds."

* * *

Tien settled within the open doorway as Karin placed his staff in between door and the hinges, blocking it from closing once Tien was motioned to back further inside. "Now, power up to the fullest you can. I will judge how your strength compares, and if your potential has peaked or nearly is there." he spoke firmly.

Nodding once Tien focused, rapidly drawing out his power and letting it rush up to the surface. In only a couple of minutes he had driven as high as his power level would allow without factoring in the Kaioken or his Kikoho.

Karin arched his eyebrows and concentrated. He gestured for the man to go higher. "I can't." he stated flatly. The aged cat sighed. "Utilize King Kai's power." he ordered.

"How would that demonstrate my potential?" Tien argued. "Because it would show me how far you've surpassed your last known showing of control. The greater you can take it without crumbling beneath the strain of tearing your ki apart so many times to falsely increase the amount will tell me if you're there or not." Karin countered flatly.

Tien's eye's widened. "Tearing it apart?" he demanded. Karin shrugged. "Of course. You're putting so much effort and concentration forward that the individual ki is forcibly fissioned into slightly smaller pieces, going farther and farther until... _boom_." he answered.

The man swallowed. 'And Vegetto said he had _mastered_ this state?' he thought incredulously. 'Unbelievable...' blinking as Karin snapped his fingers to get his attention again, Tien grimaced and began calling out each Kaioken level he could access.

His energy peaked at the third degree. "Further?" Karin asked. Grunting Tien's face settled into a fierce scowl as he pushed it one step more despite his concern over exactly what was being done to his ki, finishing so close to a million that he could practically taste it. Karin withstood the barrage of wind and nodded his head, calling over the noise for Tien to power back down.

Wearily the human did so, dropping down on his haunches and staring at the old martial arts warrior. "Well?" he questioned. "Hm... difficult to say, difficult to say." Karin began, smiling good naturedly at how the man's expression cooled several degrees in silent frustration.

"I am merely kidding you, Tenshinhan. Your growth is nearing the final peak, I am afraid, and I dearly advise you not to combine the Kaioken with your Shin Kikoho again unless you will die without it anyway." he said.

"But in the mean time.. yes, this is the most viable option. Take a year within this place to bring out as much of your potential as you can, and I would advise perhaps taking along one of the others if you think they can help. But before long, you must dedicate your strength to fully mastering more than just your power level. You will need to ensure your arsenal of moves expands beyond the Kikoho or it's step up or you will never be able to compete and live through the experience. I am sorry." Karin finished on a sad note.

Tien grimaced. "... Thank you for the honesty." he said slowly. Karin only nodded his head. "Good luck, Tenshinhan. I hope you will succeed." and with that the aged cat turned and waited to hear if the man would follow or not. Tien did so after a moment and pried the staff out of the doorway for him, focusing his thoughts on what to do from here.

* * *

The sun was high in the air when the door to the kame house was torn off it's hinges and thrown aside, revealing three men just outside the frame. Ginyu was the first to take note and likewise the first to suffer for it when half his guts were ripped out in a single split-second blow, destroying any chance he had of being of service if he didn't bleed to death in the mean time.

The others gathered around were equally stunned by the seemingly instantaneous movement and assault, rendering one of their team useless in a seconds time from over a dozen feet away. The other two still standing outside slowly crossed the entry and looked around. "#14, do not forget our prime intention. Killing the purple one can be forgiven as his value to Son Goku is zero as of this point in time, but the others must not fade so quickly." intoned the slightly taller yet less muscular Android #13.

Krillin swallowed as Yamcha shook himself free of his shock, going into a three fold Kaioken and slipping into the stance for his Wolf Fang Fist. A roar of energy from outside blew the roof clear off the kame house and sent a tremor through the small island, knocking everyone around from the shock-waves.

A panting Tien landed somewhat roughly on the sands with his fingers still locked into the position of the Shin Kikoho, all three eyes rapidly looking through the crumbling walls. 'I knew coming here was the right choice!' he thought, having boosted his speed once Ginyu's ki faltered and Yamcha's began to rise.

He had been feeling uneasy ever since noticing the mechanical bug hovering over his and Chaozu's location and soon discovered just who it belonged to. He was thankful that he took flight so soon, and the sight of two figures striding past the broken door only confirmed the fact that danger was involved here.

He didn't feel anything at all until the ki attack was rushing straight at his chest. All he had time to do was begin to call out "_Kai_-" and try to drop back before it pierced through his shoulder narrowly where it met the chest and cut cleanly out the back, rendering that arm useless as tendons were cut and bone melted through.

"_Gyaah!_" the man shouted as he fell to the ground, right arm rising to grip the lefts bleeding wound painfully. Android #14 crossed the threshold again with the right half of his body crushed inward from the earlier Shin Kikoho crashing down upon him, but both legs remained functioning enough to propel him forward awkwardly.

Shouts emerged from the inside where the large silver machine blocked Tien's vision, but he watched helplessly as white energy began to gathering into the all but ruined right hand. Sparks flared as the internal wires attempted to convey his command and only slowed things down, but the expression of determination on #14's features could not be denied.

Yamcha was thrown through a wall and collided with the machine, the force snapping one arm at the same time it crushed in the spinal collumn on the android, sending it tumbling down to both knees and the good arm.

The scarred Z-Fighter moaned weakly as bones protruded in several places, his aura wavering. #15 slowly stepped out as a low hum filled the air, coupled by a panicked cry of "Kamehameha!" from Muten Roshi. #13's dull laughter echoed out as a soft crunch escaped from within, driving the old man to whimpering in pain.

'No.. no! This isn't going to happen!' growling to himself, Tien pushed to his feet as one of the theoretical abilities he had been considering since speaking with Karin many hours ago returned to his mind.

"Spirit Burst!" he shouted, white energy gathering around his body and filling in his third eye entirely. #14 chose that moment to throw his Murder Ball forward and watched in silent approval as it pierced whatever attack the human was gathering himself for, exploding bright enough to override both machines ocular senses temporarily and throwing Tien far out to sea.

#13 looked over toward the destruction and frowned, noticing the backlash of damage had erased the front quarter of #14's body, and their smallest member was thrown bodily end over end to collide against the taller machine's side heavily.

Krillin struck while the chance was available. His terrified Kienzan gathered underneath the couch exploded forward at the duo, and he cried out in despair when #13 jumped aside, allowing his lesser comrade to be cleanly cut at a diagonal angle.

From ribcage to the middle of the skull on the right side was shaved off and collapsed in a pile of smoking circuits on the ground, leaving him blinking as his power nosedived. "What do you think you're doing, #14, #15? They're just humans. Get up." the last unharmed member of the trio ordered flatly.

#14 slowly pushed up from the dirt as the Kienzan shot around and finished him off, dancing back and forth along his skull and shoulders to make sure nothing of the machines brain endured to keep functioning.

Krillin was knocked through a wall by a low powered kick a moment later. "Pathetic." the android stated in disgust, picking up his fallen comrade and neatly dodging the wildly thrown forward saw-blade of ki. As it passed the machine spun and kicked it in the center where the attack was flat and smooth, sending it careening even more wildly off in the direction the small human had been thrown.

"Don't think this is over." #13 intoned as he looked around at the three, the old man somehow still alive despite his grievous wounding. "We'll be back soon." rising into the air he shot off back over the ocean waves toward Dr. Gero's laboratory with the still functioning but ultimately useless #15 in his arms.

Krillin panted in agony, his collarbone snapped into a dozen tiny fragments jutting up from the skin, while Yamcha slowly rolled onto his knees in abject pain. Out in the waters Tien's unconscious form surfaced with Turtle beneath him, terror on the sea-creatures face. "Where are you, Son Goku?" he asked.

* * *

Narrator: Ginyu dying, Muten Roshi barely alive, and the last three Z-Fighters rendered unable to fight in the slightest! Turtles words were never truer than at this point in time, waiting direly for hope to return.

But with no senzu left to them, and Android #13 unfazed by any of their assaults, what hope _is there_ for these battered fighters to cling onto? Part I of this exclusive minisaga is over, but Part II is still to come! Keep on waiting for the exciting conclusion to _Dr. Gero's Revenge_!


End file.
